On May 21, an unusual physical altercation took place in the corridors of the European Parliament between Swedish MEP Alice Teodorescu, a staunch supporter of Israel, and an aide to a Swedish Left Party lawmaker over the war in Gaza. The European Parliament said it accepted Teodorescu’s position after a preliminary examination of the case, which found that she had been assaulted by an aide who had tried to photograph her and “humiliate” her on social media. The atmosphere in parliament was tense yesterday, due to the heated debate over the war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told Britain, France and Canada: “When mass murderers, rapists, child killers and kidnappers say thank you, you are on the wrong side of justice.” And once again he compared the supporters of “Free Palestine” to neo-Nazis.
Tensions are rising around the world and the condemnation of the ground operation is frowned upon especially in. Israel. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak: “There is no realistic possibility, the way we are implementing things now, that anything that we have not accomplished will be accomplished now. We entered Beit Hanoun four times, Jabalia five times, or Deir al-Balah three times. There is nothing to accomplish yet, and nothing will be accomplished. There will be no solution, and the whole operation will stop in a few weeks because of a humanitarian disaster, diplomatic pressure, or events on the ground, and it will stop. When it stops, we will be in the same situation as we are now. There is no way to achieve a complete victory over Hamas, except by replacing it with another legitimate entity. There is no way to achieve a complete victory over Hamas except by replacing it with a legitimate authority in international law, legitimacy for the United States, legitimacy for the countries, and legitimacy for the Palestinian people. Military pressure has led to the loss of 41 prisoners, since the previous agreement a year ago. Today, no one has proven otherwise, that if military pressure had been applied, we might have achieved better results. I don’t think military pressure can achieve any results. The goal of the operation is “keep me”, even if Netanyahu were to fall and he will certainly eventually retreat, you can say that the military effort is what pushed Hamas to withdraw.
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 15:00 on May 23. Today there is heavy British air activity near Cyprus. A new attack against the Houthis cannot be ruled out As reported by the Israeli channel Channel 12, citing intelligence assessments, as long as the fighting continues in the Gaza Strip, the Houthi attacks from Yemen will also continue.
Syrian border guards have stopped an attempt to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation order for a Hezbollah-linked building in the southern Lebanese city of Toul, telling all residents within a 500-meter radius of the building to evacuate immediately for their own safety. Overnight, it launched shelling attacks in southern Lebanon. The city of Toul is located 35 kilometers from the nearest Israeli border and upstream from the Litani River. Israeli incursions in the heights of the Al-Tuffah region (at least three) and in Wadi Bergaz in the western Bekaa. Some strikes targeted Bouday in the Bekaa Valley. Strikes also occurred in the Ezzieh Valley (four strikes). None of the strikes had secondary explosions. Two airstrikes also occurred in Aitaroun. Early morning strikes were recorded in Shamaa. One attack was recorded in Tyre. The shelling lasted seven hours.
The IDF said that the Israeli Air Force struck more than 75 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. Among the targets there were militants, rocket launchers, buildings used by Hamas groups, weapons depots and other infrastructure, the IDF said. Meanwhile, the army says ground forces killed several militants in the Gaza Strip and destroyed other Hamas targets.
A tank commander from the 52nd Battalion of the IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade was seriously injured during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on the morning of May 22, the army said. The soldier was taken to the hospital and his family was notified. In another incident on May 22, the army said a soldier was slightly injured in a grenade attack during an operation in southern Gaza.
Update from Gaza – North Governorate: “The IDF continued to clear the northern part of Gaza and entered the first areas of the northern outskirts of Gaza City. They took the former command and control center at the desalination plant on the coast and pushed into the adjacent district, taking up positions in the residential area.”
“They also advanced with multiple attack vectors towards the northern and northeastern areas of Beit Lahiya city, before entering and clearing the outlying neighborhoods. They also reached the northern edge of the western part of Beit Hanoun on Al-Awda road, almost completely cutting the city off from the rest of the governorate.”
Update from Gaza – Gaza Governorate: “The IDF resumed its advance in the Shujaiyya and Kuba neighborhoods in the southeast of Gaza City, pushing northwest on a broad front and expanding its buffer zone from the border.”
“Armored units cleared several blocks in the center of the incursion zone, reaching the area where the central cemetery was located (before its demolition) and clearing adjacent blocks. To the southwest, they cleared additional parts of the most densely populated area near Al-Muntar and Al-Mansora streets.”
The zone of control was corrected in the Kuba district, with the IDF controlling part of the former residential area west of Al-Mansora street, although this area is now completely destroyed.
No progress was made in the Al-Tuffah district in the northwest; however, demolitions continued in the areas already occupied.
Khan Younis Governorate: The IDF continued its extensive advances and clearing operations northeast of Khan Younis city and occupied additional areas of Al-Qarara and Jarara towns.
The IDF advanced with multiple vectors on a broad front from the Gaza border to the Salah al-Deen Highway and cleared the remainder of central Jarara, advancing towards the southern neighborhoods, which were almost completely captured.
To the west, the IDF reached the Salah al-Deen Highway later, occupying additional areas of central Al-Qarara, before entering and clearing parts of the southern and southeastern neighborhoods of the city.
In the southeastern part of Khan Younis Governorate, the IDF continued to clear the towns of Khuzaa and Khirbat Ikhzaa. Armored units advanced from the central part of Khirbat Ikhzaa and cleared the rest of the city, while other units advanced northwest. To the northeast, the IDF entered the main part of Khuzaa, clearing most of the rest of the city.
The IDF continued to advance in the southern part of Khan Younis Governorate after crossing the regional border. They pushed north along Salah al-Deen Road West and are approaching the center of Qizan an Najjar city. Clearing operations were carried out in several residential areas.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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