MIDDLE EAST ON BRINK OF TOTAL WAR

The Middle East is inching closer towards total war as a result of Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and its repeated provocations against Iran, Syria and Lebanon. The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza has already exceeded 32,000. Most of the recent casualties were the result of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attack on Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which began on March 18. The IDF concluded its brutal attack on April 1. Israeli officials claimed some 900 suspects had been apprehended, 200 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters killed, weapons and almost 3 million USD in cash seized during the attack. However, officials in Gaza revealed that Israeli troops had killed 400 Palestinians inside and around the medical complex. Videos posted to social media showed that the complex was destroyed and set on fire by Israeli troops, who also dug up the bodies from a nearby cemetery. The decomposing bodies of dozens of slain Palestinains, including children and women, were found all around the hospital. Some of the bodies were reportedly run over by military vehicles, while others were tied up and shot execution style. The Israeli military escalation in Gaza was accompanied by a series of provocations against Iran, Syria and Lebanon. The most serious of provocations was on April 1, when an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. The airstrike killed 13 people. The victims included a senior Quds Force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and his deputy Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi as well as five Iranian officials, Hossein Aman Elahi, Sayid Mehdi Jalalati, Ali Agha Babaei, Sayid Ali Salehi Roozbahani and Mohsen Sedaghat. Four other victims were Syrian nationals. Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad condemned the strike, calling it a “terrorist attack” which had killed innocents. Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed a harsh response to the attack. The attack was also condemned by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Pakistan and Turkey as well as to both China and Russia. In addition, Russia, who has been growing frustrated by Israel’s repeated attacks on Syria, requested a meeting with the UN Security Council regarding the strike on April 2. It’s worth noting that the attack came just a few hours after a drone struck a base of the Israeli Navy in Israel southernmost city of Eilat causing material damage. The Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq later said that it had struck a target in Israel using drones. Overall, Israel’s recent actions from Gaza to Syria have caused serious tensions in the Middle East. Iran and its allies in the so-called “Axis of Resistance” will certainly respond to the Israeli provocations, especially the deadly attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus. This could lead to a full-blown military confrontation in the region, which may be Israel’s goal.