GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 239

Hamas And Israel Not Onboard

Mixed Emotions

As details of a new hostage deal reverberated around the world leaders from inside Israel weighed in on what they thought as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir both said on Saturday night that they would not agree to US President Joe Biden’s proposal and threatened to leave the government if his plan was accepted.

Smotrich said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “I just spoke with the prime minister and made it clear that I will not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages.”

As I reported last time, Biden appeared to leave out key parts of the deal once Netanyahu’s office made a statement of their own. Smotrich went on to add more to his opposition to the announced deal:

He added, “We will not agree to stop the war before Hamas is destroyed. We will not accept undermining the achievements of the war so far by withdrawing the IDF and allowing Gazans to return to the northern part of the [Gaza] Strip. We will not permit the wholesale release of terrorists who might return to murder Jews.”

Smotrich demanded “the continuation of the fight until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned.”

He also brought up dealing with Hezbollah in the north:

“We seek the creation of a completely different security reality in Gaza and Lebanon, the return of all residents to their homes in the North and South, and massive investment in the accelerated development of these areas,” he said.

Another Israeli leader chimed in as well:

Ben-Gvir said on Saturday evening that “the deal, as its details were announced today, means the end of the war and the abandonment of the goal to destroy Hamas. This is a reckless deal, which constitutes a victory for terrorism and a security threat to the State of Israel.”

He stressed that “agreeing to such a deal is not an absolute victory, but an absolute defeat.”

“We will not allow the war to end without the complete eradication of Hamas. If the prime minister proceeds with the reckless deal under the conditions published today, which means the end of the war and abandoning the goal to destroy Hamas, Otzma Yehudit will dissolve the government,” Ben-Gvir warned.

Support For The Deal

On the other side of the argument as also strong words as we see from the rest of the Post article:

Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has a safety net from us for a hostage deal if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich leave the government.”

No love lost there is there? Lapid won’t remove Netanyahu from power if the two conservative leaders leave, taking their member’s support:

Lapid’s comments referred to a promise that he had made to Netanyahu in February that he would ensure the prime minister’s government retained the necessary mandates to remain viable in the event that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir left the government in protest of a hostage deal.

He encouraged everyone to get behind the deal Biden announced:

Lapid emphasized that “the Israeli government cannot ignore President Biden’s significant speech. There is a deal on the table and it needs to be done.”

Another leader agreed with Lapid:

New Labor Party leader MK Yair Golan praised Biden’s announcement.

Golan made a statement on X, saying “President Biden, a true friend of Israel, says in his voice what everyone in Israel already understood in the early stages of the war. The condition for the return of all the abductees is the cessation of fighting. Netanyahu played down the achievements of the IDF and the chances of [bringing home] the abductees. Now the fighting must end and [then we can] bring everyone home.”

Everyone is playing without the full deck as it were. Biden dealt the cards but left out what both Netanyahu and Hamas said about the offer. All of this talk of taking the deal laid out by Biden is disingenuous since we now know that it was just the deal the US administration concocted. They made it sound as if Israel assented to it when they clearly did not. This constant manipulation of the narrative is not sitting well with both Israel and Hamas and if you actually listen to both of those sides you’ll quickly see that this tactic is just smoke and mirrors to them. The main things that both are demanding are wholly incompatible with a deal and why grandstanding and saber rattling is being done is puzzling. That is unless you hope one side or the other relents, which we see is simply not going to occur. Israel will not stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed and Hamas will not negotiate until a permanent ceasefire is agreed to. Where an agreement is in this offer laid out is beyond me.

Hezbollah Is Watching, Too

As we see in another report from The Jerusalem Post Hezbollah is watching what happens with the current peace deal on the table as it escalates its attacks on Israel:

Hezbollah escalated attacks over the weekend of May 31-June 1. The pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen media detailed an extensive list of Hezbollah’s claims to have attacked numerous sites in northern Israel. The escalation comes as the US and France are pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hezbollah says it is supporting the people of Gaza.

The Iranian-backed group claimed to have targeted the “Yiftach Barracks” as well as a “sensitive” military site and the “Biranit barracks.” The group said it targeted the headquarters of the 769th IDF Brigade using Burkan heavy missiles. The group also said it shot down a Hermes 900 drone. Al-Mayadeen claimed this was the fourth Hermes drone downed in May.

The Hezbollah escalation comes as Hamas has vowed a war of “attrition” in Gaza. It appears that Hezbollah is seeking to increase its attacks at the same time as Hamas is also increasing its attacks on the IDF in Gaza. This is apparently part of a full-court press to show Israel that Iran’s “axis of resistance” is succeeding after almost eight months of war.

More details about the attacks were given:

The Hezbollah attacks began on May 31 at 11:44 am with sirens in Metula. Later, Hezbollah also launched drone attacks targeting areas near Metula. Sirens also sounded in Acre in the afternoon.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the area of the city of Acre, one UAV that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon was successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array. Alerts were activated in the area due to the danger of falling fragments from the interceptor,” the IDF said.

While the report also gave more details, the push to increase the attacks is coming from Iran:

Hezbollah and other Iranian-linked groups are shifting their attacks to attempt to strike at Israel using more drones and other capabilities that they have developed.

The use of a cruise missile, for instance, is a serious escalation. This shows how Iran is exporting its technology to various groups in the region. Recent reports from Iran also noted that the country is seeking to transfer more ballistic missile technology to the Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis have also stepped up attacks since May 30, using numerous drones and ballistic missiles.

Could this be a test run of an all-out attack on Israel from all sides? Some think it is leading up to that:

It is clear that Iran is seeking to ring Israel with proxy groups and carry out numerous attacks on a variety of fronts. Iran calls this “unifying the arenas.” The escalation over the weekend is an example of this attempt.

Hezbollah’s claims of targeting IDF bases also shows how Hezbollah is trying to showcase its intelligence abilities. For instance it has recently said that it is seeking to target Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

The overall picture in the north is of an aggressive Hezbollah that is not deterred and is willing to expand the conflict.