International newspapers and websites, in their discussion of the Gaza war, focused on the impasse that Israel faces due to its current government’s policy, and on the warnings of American officials of the consequences of the occupation entering into a comprehensive war with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The newspaper “Haaretz” wrote in its editorial that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to lead Israel from one crisis to another, at a time when he is endangering relations with the United States and exacerbating the international isolation of Israel, which now faces two options.”
The first option, the newspaper adds, is “the continuation of the war on Gaza without any political goal and at the expense of the lives of the hostages, and the second lies in Israel being drawn into the war with Lebanon, which means getting involved in a war on multiple fronts.”
In another context, an analysis in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper warned that the situation in the West Bank could explode comprehensively at any moment, adding that the security establishment in Israel is very concerned that preoccupation with the West Bank “will hinder war efforts in the south and north, forcing… The Israeli army deployed important forces in the West Bank.
The Guardian newspaper dealt with an assessment made by American officials late last week, in which they said, “The Israeli Iron Dome faces the risk of collapse if an all-out war breaks out with Hezbollah.”
American officials warned that Hezbollah members have the ability to launch 3,000 missiles daily from Lebanon, and the newspaper adds that everyone is convinced that the military and political leadership in Israel is not properly aware of these risks.
For its part, The Times newspaper indicated that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has turned the border areas between them into ghost villages, and the newspaper quoted expert Sarit Zehavi as saying that she is convinced that what she described as a major attack is imminent.
She added, “The feeling that prevailed after the 2006 war was to deter Hezbollah, but in the past two years things have changed significantly after the party built watchtowers and sites along the border, and 30 new sites appeared last year alone.”
On another topic, The New York Times wrote about the collapse of the education sector in the Gaza Strip, and said that the war eliminated the dreams of tens of thousands of students and changed the priorities of many of them. Due to the massive death and destruction that Israel inflicted on schools and educational facilities, the academic year was lost for hundreds of thousands of students, the newspaper adds.