Retired Israeli officer describes Iran as the perpetrator of the situation
The current conflict between Israel and the armed groups Hamas and Hezbollah is part of a larger plan by Iran to widen its influence through local armed groups that Israel serves as a bulwark against, retired Major General and former head of the Israeli National Security Council Giora Eiland said.
“…take weak countries, and some of those are failed countries like Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and others, and then build internal pro-Iranian militia in these countries,” Eiland said.
“They would like to see a very similar development in Jordan, Sudan, Bahrain and at some point maybe also Saudi Arabia and maybe other countries.”
He stressed that by confronting these moves, Israel would be “indirectly serving the interests of the West.”
On Israel’s strikes in Gaza and its blockade of the enclave, Eiland justified that European countries would act similarly in a comparable situation.
“We can assure that if it happened between Belgium and smaller Luxemburg, then the immediate Belgian response would be to cut all the supplies from their area to small Luxemburg and to say, well, at least we are not going to allow for any supplies to go from Belgium to smaller Luxemburg… and we will until you return with no condition, the 250 Belgian citizens,” referring to the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas, Hezbollah remain ‘hostile’
Eiland said that the priority for Israel would be based on the return of the hostages and cessation of all hostilities.
“I am not sure if Hamas is interested in such a deal, but it is something that can be done.”
Despite the possibility of such a scenario, Eiland emphasized that in his opinion, the hostile stance of Hamas and Hezbollah towards Israel is unchanged.
“Their political goal is to eliminate Israel and kill all the Jews who live here,” the former Israeli security official said.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an armed incursion into Israel killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some are still held in Gaza.
Israel responded with attacks on the Gaza Strip that have led to the deaths of at least 41,272 people, mostly civilians.
The Lebanese armed group and Iran-backed Hezbollah joined the fight by launching attacks on northern Israel.
On Tuesday, pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon, injuring and killing members and non-members of the group, including children. The following day, walkie-talkies used by the group exploded. The detonations killed at least 31 people and wounded thousands.
Although Israel refused to officially comment on the events, they are widely blamed for the attack.
Israel also launched air strikes in southern Lebanon and Beirut, killing several Hezbollah members, including the high-ranking commanders Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi and Ibrahim Aqil.
