The Israel-Hamas war

The Israel-Hamas war|The attacks  

Details: Israel bombs several locations in Syria  

 

Several places in Syria have been bombed in the past 24 hours, according to news agencies. At least 19 pro-Iran militiamen have been killed near the border with Iraq, according to AFP. Two others were reportedly killed in airstrikes in southern Syria near the Israeli border overnight. Bombs against a military airport in Aleppo in the north have caused material damage, writes Haaretz.  

 

According to the Syrian Ministry of Defense and the organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israel is behind the attacks. The Israeli army, the IDF, has declined to comment.  

 

In a separate statement, the IDF states that it attacked "terrorist cells and military infrastructure" in Lebanon and stopped Lebanese shelling that crossed the border into Israel, writes Haaretz.  

 

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NEW: Israel lacked plan for large-scale Hamas attack  

 

The Israeli military was undermanned, fragmented and poorly organized when Hamas launched its terror attack in the country on October 7, a New York Times review shows. 

 

According to current and former soldiers, Israel lacked a plan for how to act in the event of a large-scale attack by the terrorist group. In connection with the attack, therefore, soldiers communicated in improvised Whatsapp groups and helicopter pilots were ordered to follow news reports and Telegram channels to select targets, according to the newspaper.  

 

- In practice, there was no defensive preparation, no exercise and no equipment or strength for such an operation, says Yom Tov Sami, Major General of the Israeli Reserves. 

 

Nor does Yaakov Amidror, former national adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, know of any such plan.  

 

- The army does not prepare for things it believes are impossible, he says.  

 

Around 1,200 people were killed in connection with the Hamas attack on Israel.

 

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The Israel-Hamas war|The reactions  

Biden tours Congress - sells arms to Israel  

 

The US government rounds the congress and sells parts of artillery shells and associated equipment for the equivalent of 1.5 billion Swedish kronor to Israel. This is reported by TT.  

 

According to AP, the parts are needed so that grenades that Israel has already bought can be used.  

 

Joe Biden's major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is stuck in Congress, where Republicans are demanding domestic policy concessions to pass it.  

 

It is the second time the State Department has used the so-called fast track to sell weapons to Israel. "It is in the United States' own national interest to ensure that Israel can defend itself against the threats the country faces," the ministry writes in a statement.  

 

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Air strikes on Syria kill ten: "Probably" from the US  

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 10 pro-Iranian fighters in Syria have been killed in airstrikes that "probably" came from the United States. A further 30 people are said to have been injured, AP writes.  

 

An arms shipment from Iran and an ammunition depot are also said to have been hit.  

 

According to AP, the airstrikes come shortly after Iran-backed militias in Syria claimed an attack on a US military base in Ibril in northern Iraq.  

 

The United States has not confirmed the attacks, but according to AP has previously said that it plans to strike against Iran-backed militias in Syria shortly. Fighting near the Syria-Iraq border has intensified sharply since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7. 

 

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Analysis: Loathing of Netanyahu unites Israelis  

 

War tends to unify and make people rally behind their leaders. But the Gaza war has only united the Israelis even more in their loathing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, writes Yossi Verter in an analysis in the left-liberal Haaretz.  

 

This despite public opinion pulling to the right just like the government, and despite broad support for the war. The background, writes Verter, is the legal reform that he continues to push, his concessions to the extreme right and the lack of humility in the face of the failures in the defense of the country and the war against Hamas. 

 

On Saturday night, thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv and outside Netanyahu's home, demanding his resignation. Tova Herzl suggests on the independent news site Ynet a simpler explanation: Netanyahu is saying what he does not want - a Palestinian state, international pressure, external rule over Gaza. But no one knows what he wants. Herzl writes: 

 

“If not hope, can we at least get a game plan, a direction?”

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