Why, Oh Why, Cannot Israel Behave Itself?!!!

"We will respond with greater force [if Israel] persists in its actions."

"The crimes committed by Israel are unmatched in history."

"We also want security and peace. It was Israel that assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran."

Masoud Pezeshian, President of Iran

"On the evening of the holiday, the IDF is operating and striking on all fronts."

"IDF soldiers will mark the holiday in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and on all the borders, with reinforced forces and heightened readiness."

IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt.Gen Herzi Halevi

"[The strike on Israel] failed [and was] thwarted thanks to Israel's air defence system, which is the most advanced in the world."

"The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies."

"They will understand. We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us, we will attack him."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

"The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 288th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday."

Israel Defense Forces 

A view of the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Oct. 4, 2024. Ahmad Al-Kerdi/REUTERS

 

Israel, according to the president of Iran is entirely responsible for the violence increasing in the Middle East. That the Islamic Republic fired over 180 ballistic missiles bombarding Israel is entirely irrelevant in the conclusion reached by Masoud Pezeshkian, that Iran, Lebanon and Gaza are innocent bystanders at the mercy of a relentless military scourge that has attacked them repeatedly, threatening the lives of their leaders, and the innocent civilians that populate their peaceful countries. 

Of course Hezbollah was funded, trained and at the service of Iran and its Revolutionary Guard Corps, both engaged in righting the wrongs done by Israel to the Palestinians who, having appropriated the Roman-era nomenclature identifying Judean land to identify it as their own heritage patrimony of recent vintage. For its part, Tehran has painstakingly created an "Axis of Resistance" incorporating Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and loyal Shi'ite militias in Syria and Iraq, all of whom can be called upon singly and collectively to do its bidding; destroy Israel.

Since the October 7 massacre of Israelis and the Israel Defense Forces response in Gaza, methodically destroying the labyrinthian Hamas tunnel infrastructure and eliminating its leaders and operatives, Lebanon's Hezbollah has been bombarding northern Israel almost daily with hundreds of missiles, leading to the enforced evacuation of 60,000 Israelis from their homes and farms. In turn, Israel has targeted and eliminated Hezbollah military commanders. 

These are the regionally disruptive actions that Israel is accused of; as though for no reason turning against its neighbours to create havoc while murdering innocent leaders of local militias minding their own business and suddenly faced with an existential dilemma. Hours after Iran launched its ballistic missiles at Israel, Hezbollah returned the compliment in its own launching of rockets at Israel, making for a busy day for the Jewish state's storied defensive weaponry.

The United Nations is very concerned over the acceleration of events in the Middle East. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thundered his disapproval of the Islamic Republic threatening Israel and unleashing a response that in its totality has the potential to lead to not only a much larger regional conflict, but one that will essentially embroil the West. Oh wait; perhaps it wasn't Iran Mr. Guterres is furious with, but Israel, after all. "It is high time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza", he ordered.

The United Nations Security Council calls an emergency meeting, following a ballistic missile attack on Israel, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel