Late in the evening of November 19, a suspicious envelope was found in Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office. The bomb squad was called to the scene. It was not an explosive device.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, and MGB Director David Zini, along with other senior government and military officials, visited a military post in Israeli-controlled southern Syria on Wednesday, infuriating the Syrians.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a group of other senior officials to southern Syria, stating that Damascus considers it a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state.
The Israeli delegation’s visit comes just days after a joint Russian-Turkish delegation visited former Russian observation posts in the countryside of al-Qunaitra and Daraa, while talks between Moscow and Damascus regarding the return of Russian peacekeeping troops to the Syrian-Israeli border have made significant progress.
Israel’s attacks will also continue in Lebanon: “The Israeli security system is observing that direct attacks against Hezbollah are insufficient and that a broader intervention is needed. They have emphasized that the Lebanese organization is restoring its military capabilities and that the Israeli army could also attack areas it has not targeted so far,” Channel 11 reports.
There was a clash between Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danon and his Syrian counterpart Al-Elbi at the Security Council meeting. Danon at the Security Council meeting: “There is no evidence that Syria has turned the page. We cannot speak of a ‘new Syria’ when Druze, Christians, and Alawites are being exterminated. Change is demonstrated through action: stopping the killings, curbing the militias, and protecting minorities.”
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Al-Elbi responded to Ambassador Danon: “We have already demonstrated our value to the Syrians, the countries of the region, and our allies, but is Israel doing the same?” “The best?” Danon added: “Israel will not allow militias to be present on its border; we will protect our citizens, all of them. If you want us to believe in your changes, show it to us. Words do not create stability.”
French intervention in the Gaza and Lebanon issue. “France has agreed to send 100 security agents to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force,” a source told al-Hadath, a Saudi newspaper. “Paris is concerned about the escalation of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon. Paris condemns the Israeli attacks, and we have intensified our efforts with the United States to de-escalate tensions,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “Paris calls on the Israeli army to withdraw from the Syrian Golan (territory captured after the fall of the Assad government) and to respect the unity of Syrian territory,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Hamas released a statement condemning the latest attacks on Gaza and Khan Yunis, claiming that more than 25 people, including women and children, were killed. The organization denies Israeli allegations of bombing by the Israel Defense Forces and states that more than 300 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, and that destruction and bombing continue. Hamas calls on the United States government to pressure Israel to respect the ceasefire and calls on mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to fulfill their obligations and force Israel to cease its violations.
And now, a look at the military scenario in the region, updated at 4:00 PM on November 20. Most of the forces in Aden, Yemen, are loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council of Yemen, and most of them are mercenaries and belong to the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces. If the various parties accept the proposal that they intervene to maintain peace in Gaza, the Rapid Support Forces will most likely patrol the streets of Gaza City.
The chairman of the board of the Yemeni Saba news agency and the deputy editor of the AnSar Allah, Nasr al-Din Amer, stated: “One of the most important reasons for the hysteria that gripped the Israeli media and their trumpets after Sana’a announced the discovery of their cells is that they were heavily influenced by the narrative of Zionist and American intelligence fortifications and that their infiltration is something that cannot be addressed. But thank God, what has been uncovered is only a small part, and there is something larger and greater, thank God for his guidance and support.” They promised major revelations in the coming days.
In Syria, a large squadron of eight Israeli jets entered Syria from the Golan Heights, heading north to the Syrian-Turkish border. Subsequently, other Israeli jets, along with reconnaissance drones, entered Syria from the Golan Heights.
Israeli jets were recorded flying over Aleppo and Azaz, a stronghold of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in northern Syria. Channel 11 confirmed that Israeli jets were flying in northern Syria, along the southern Turkish border and the northern Lebanese border. Approximately 12-15 Israeli aircraft were in Syrian airspace at the same time. “The Israeli Air Force is carrying out an operational mission, which includes filming and intelligence gathering,” the Israeli channel stated regarding the Israeli aircraft operating near the Turkish border.
“The Israeli military is preparing for a multi-day combat mission against Hezbollah,” Channel 13 explained. On November 20, Lebanese drug lord Nouh Zaiter, the leader of the Zaiter clan, was arrested in the Bekaa Valley by Lebanese intelligence in an ambush in the Bekaa region of Lebanon. The pro-Hezbollah clan previously operated in Syrian cities along the Syrian-Lebanese border before being pushed back into Lebanon by the Syrian army earlier this year.
On the night of November 19-20, an Israeli drone strike targeted a car in the town of al-Tiri, near Bint Jbeil, the third such attack in less than 24 hours. At the same time, a school bus near the car was damaged, injuring the driver and eight children.
A landmine exploded in Majdal Zoun, southern Lebanon, near a Lebanese Army deployment point, inflicting minor injuries and taking him to the hospital.
The IDF opened fire inside the yellow line east of the town of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli settlers establish a new outpost in Khirbet Al-Maleh, in the northern Jordan Valley.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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