Amid settlers fear, IOF victory claims far from felt: Israeli media
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Haaretz reports that Benjamin Netanyahu's government has declared "victories" in the war against Lebanon, even as attacks on settlers are increasing and "life in the north remains completely paralyzed."
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A member of the Israeli forces inspects a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on November 24, 2024. (AP)
Israeli media reported that while "life in the North continues to suffer from complete disruption and reality is spilling over into the center of the country," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "has declared victory and boasts of the Israel Defense Forces' achievements," thus significantly undermining "the average Israeli's sense of personal security."
"More than 200 rockets in a day with people wounded from Nahariya to Petach Tikva, three sirens within 12 hours in the Sharon region. Sunday was one of the most intensive days of rocket attacks since the start of the war," Israeli journalist Amod Harel wrote for Haaretz.
He explained that the intensive shelling comes as revenge for the Israeli massacre in Beirut, adding that the Resistance took advantage of “the winter weather when conditions are more challenging for the Israel Air Force" and as an effort to re-establish the deterrence equation which says that Israeli bombing in Beirut's Southern Suburb will be answered by Hezbollah rockets aimed at the center of "Israel".
Harel stressed that life in the north remains "completely paralyzed", adding that while ceasefire negotiations are ongoing in Lebanon, the growing frequency of shelling from Lebanon, now extending into central "Israel", is undermining settlers' sense of security.
Meanwhile, leaders of local authorities in northern "Israel" are urging for intensified attacks on Lebanon, while Benny Gantz, head of the State camp and a Knesset member, has called on the government to issue orders to target Lebanese state infrastructure.
General Staff pushes for deal in Lebanon, Gaza
Harel noted that the recent developments have not altered the General Staff's position, which was communicated to the political leadership last week. The General Staff maintains that the operational successes in both the north and south create favorable conditions for a ceasefire. They recommend a course of action that includes a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza, as well as a quick agreement on the return of captives from the Gaza Strip.
They added that the prevailing view is that an agreement could be reached with US support and involvement in backing the Lebanese army—and overseeing the implementation of the agreement—would help stabilize the situation along the border.
As for the prisoner-captive exchange deal, this "will require flexibility on Israel's part and at least a temporary halt to the fighting, even if Hamas hasn't been totally defeated, considering that "the alternative is likely to be the deaths of the hostages who remain in captivity."
On that note, Harel explained that the lack of evidence regarding the details of the captives led to their case being removed from the public agenda, noting that this “does not happen in a vacuum.”
He cited journalist Barak Ravid, who reported that US President-elect Donald Trump had been under the false impression that the vast majority of the hostages were already dead only to be surprised that this was not the case.
"I wonder who planted this erroneous thought in the president-elect's head," Harel said.
Internal divisions
This comes amid growing internal divisions within the occupation, as noted by Harel. He pointed out that Netanyahu’s objective of appointing Israel Katz to replace Yoav Gallant as Minister of Security has been achieved, aiming to stoke tensions within the security and military establishment, with Katz fulfilling his expected role.
Harel mentioned that newspapers published a fact-finding report that exposed the lies and deception in the lengthy video Netanyahu released on Saturday, in which he attacked both the Shin Bet and the judiciary. The report found that the claims made in the video "did not correspond to reality in any way."
He explained that Netanyahu's entire goal was to "inflame his base of supporters, while he looks for more excuses to stop or delay the criminal proceedings against him."
This comes after Netanyahu’s legal team has requested a 15-day delay for the start of his testimony in his ongoing criminal trial. They claimed that despite their efforts, both the Prime Minister and his defense attorneys would not be ready by the scheduled date of December 2.
