Iran’s United Nations delegation has cautioned that a confrontation of catastrophic proportions could take place if Israel opts to wage an all-out military attack on Lebanon. The mission not only alluded to the likelihood of a total war, but also hinted that a wide range of strategic options, including full-scale resistance, could be employed in retaliation.
As a response, the US has moved the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault vessel, into the eastern Mediterranean, positioning it strategically to hinder any potential escalation between the Lebanese Hizbullah faction and Israel which could lead to a broader conflict in the Middle East.
In a related scenario, the US military’s aid pier in the Gaza Strip was again withdrawn due to maritime conditions. The Pentagon conveyed that it didn’t see the point in reinstating it until the aid supplies were transported from a nearby collection point to the people in Gaza.
Simultaneously, on Friday, Israel’s military forces escalated their invasion of northern and southern territories in Gaza. This resulted in a tank assault on Rafah, leading to a minimum of 11 suspected fatalities according to Palestinian health authorities. Reports from local residents and Hamas media suggest tank incursions into the Shakoush district of Rafah incited a mass exodus of thousands of displaced people to Khan Younis in the north.
In another incident, air assaults targeted five houses in Shijaiyah, a district in Gaza City, resulting in a minimum of three casualties and six injured. As per civil defence response teams, search and rescue operations are ongoing. The Palestinian emergency service unit placed the death toll due to Israeli air strikes in Shijaiyah at no less than seven.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Forces claimed conducting multiple strikes in northern Gaza that resulted in the decimation of dozens of terrorists taking refuge in Unrwa’s school and facility buildings. They reported a strike launched by a combat aircraft aimed at a Hamas member in a central Gaza building of Deir al Balah, situated within an area deemed by Israel as a ‘humanitarian zone’.
In an attempt to broker peace, the United States has recommended changes to the potential ceasefire and hostage agreement between Hamas and Israel. This was reported by the US news platform, Axios, on Friday and was backed by information from three reliable sources.
The health department of Hamas-ruled Gaza stated on Saturday that as of October 7th, Israel’s aggressive military campaign had claimed the lives of at least 37,834 Palestinians and left 86,858 wounded.