The unpredictable Middle East 'fire pan'

Iran plans to fight Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on November 4 that Israel’s agreement to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon could help limit the intensity and scale of Iran’s response to Tel Aviv’s attack on October 26. IRNA quoted Iranian President Pezeshkian as saying that Israel knows that any miscalculation against Iran will be met with a strong response, and affirmed that Tel Aviv is responsible for escalating tensions in the region. Earlier, Israel attacked Iran on October 26 in retaliation for Tehran’s large-scale missile launch against Tel Aviv on October 1.

Iran preparing to attack Israel more strongly?

President Pezeshkian's statement came after The Wall Street Journal reported on November 3 that Iran is preparing a "strong and complex response" scenario, including the use of missiles with more powerful warheads and many other advanced weapons to retaliate against Israel's airstrike on October 26. Revealing to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian official said that the country could take advantage of Iraqi territory for part of the campaign and target Israeli military facilities on a larger scale and level than before, while emphasizing that Tehran will send regular troops to participate in the campaign, instead of just the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as before.

Palestinians live in ruins in northern Gaza on November 3, 2024.

In addition, Iranian officials also outlined the general US response, both public and secret, to a potential attack by Tehran on Tel Aviv. Regarding the timing, the Iranian official said the attack could take place after the US presidential election on November 5 and before the new US president takes office in January 2025.

Israel tightens siege on Gaza

On November 4, the Israeli Foreign Ministry officially notified the United Nations that it would withdraw from the 1967 agreement allowing the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Assistance Agency (UNRWA) to provide services to Palestinian refugees.

"Despite the fact that we have presented the UN with clear evidence that Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA, the agency has done nothing to remedy the situation," Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in a statement, according to The Times of Israel. Danon said Israel would continue to work with other humanitarian organizations to replace UNRWA. According to Reuters, Israel's move could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

If elected, Mr. Trump wants the Gaza conflict to end before taking office.

In another development, Palestinian medical staff said Israeli forces carried out several air strikes on the Gaza Strip on November 3 that killed at least 31 people. According to Reuters, Palestinians accused the air and ground operations as well as recent forced evacuation orders as "ethnic cleansing" to wipe out the population of two towns and a refugee camp in northern Gaza to create a buffer zone. Israel denied the accusations, and affirmed that it was fighting the Hamas group, which launched attacks on Tel Aviv from this area.

Israel investigates leak of classified documents

An Israeli court announced on November 3 that authorities had arrested four suspects, including Eliezer Feldstein, former spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on charges of leaking classified documents. Details of the case have not been released, but Reuters reported that the suspects are believed to have leaked Hamas strategic documents related to ceasefire negotiations and hostage rescue in Gaza. The Rishon Le-Zion Court of First Instance (Israel) said the incident caused serious damage to national security as well as affected the hostage rescue process. Prime Minister Netanyahu denied that he or his subordinates were involved in the leak, claiming that he only learned about it through the media.

The incident has shocked Israeli politics and angered the families of the hostages held by Hamas, and could further deepen the distrust between Prime Minister Netanyahu and the military and domestic intelligence agencies, which has been rift since the security failures during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chao-lua-trung-dong-kho-doan-dinh-185241104221102467.htm