THIS October 7 marks a year since Israeli aggression on Gaza. Israel used Hamas attack as an excuse to carry out its genocidal war on Gaza, Palestine. It declared the elimination of Hamas as its objective in attacking Gaza. Far from achieving its objective, Israel has today pushed the entire West Asia into a cauldron of fire with its attacks on Lebanon, Iran, Syria,Yemen and Iraq. The US has stood steadfastly with Israel backing its every aggressive move.

Israel’s military attacks on Lebanon over the past fortnight have completely changed the character of the war. In a planned offensive, Israel started with intense air raids on southern Lebanon, followed by targeted assassinations of Hezbollah leaders using pagers and other communication devices. With the assassination of the secretary general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who was in the headquarters of his organisation, using a bunker buster bomb the war got escalated to new heights. On October 1, Israel declared that it is launching a ‘limited, localised and targeted’ ground operation in southern Lebanon. In reality, it had mobilised large numbers of troops at Lebanon’s borders for a full-fledged ground invasion.

Israel is a rogue State in West Asia. It is violating all international laws and treaties and carrying out targeted assassinations and attacks in various countries. In the past one year, it had targeted and assassinated top Iranian commanders by striking inside Iranian territory. Ismail Haniyeh, chief negotiator of Hamas was assassinated while he was attending the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Iranian president. This was followed by targeted strikes in Beirut and the assassination of Nasrallah.

After assassinating Nasrallah, Israel has announced that Hezbollah is all but finished. Such wild pronouncements are cut off from reality. In 1992, Israel assassinated Abbas al-Musawi, co-founder and the second secretary general of Hezbollah. He was replaced by Nasrallah, who twice resisted Israeli army’s invasion. Israel was forced to accept its failure to meet its objective after its defeat in the hands of Hezbollah in 2006. It seems Israel has not learnt anything from its earlier escapades.

As an advanced outpost of US imperialism in West Asia, Israel is talking the language of the US. It has declared its military strategy as ‘escalate to de-escalate’. This is a flawed understanding and a failed strategy. Such a strategy assumes that an intense military attack will force the enemy to surrender. History is replete with instances to show that this strategy does not guarantee victory. We have seen the spectacular failure of the US in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. The same is going to repeat for Israel.

Hawkish Israeli leaders think that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralysed due to Israeli attacks and hence Iran is ‘exposed and weak’. They are calling for military strikes on Iran, even targeting its nuclear facilities. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is talking about ‘enforcing a regime change in Iran’ and ‘changing the political map of West Asia’. Carried away by these wild ideas, Israel is acting recklessly to establish its hegemony, which also serves the interests of the US.

To stop Israel and protect its interests, Iran has now fired more than 180 missiles into Israel claiming its right to defend. This is the second such instance of Iranian retaliation after Israel struck on its territory.

Israel’s confidence in acting rogue in the region comes from the unstinting support it is receiving from the US and its allies like the UK. At every step of the escalation of the present conflict, we find the US supporting Israel. The US has given Israel more military assistance than any other country since the Second World War, providing aid worth more than 124 billion dollars. Since 2016, Israel is receiving 3.8 billion dollars per year as military assistance under a 10-year plan. On the day Israel launched its offensive against Gaza, the US president Joe Biden pledged more military assistance for Israel, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish the Iron Dome. Ignoring reports about the human rights abuses committed by the Israeli defence forces, the US sent an additional 3.5 billion dollars to Israel in August to buy US-made weapons and military equipment. In the past year alone, 14 billion dollars was given to replenish Israel’s military armoury.

On top of all these, US has moved its aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers in support of Israel. The US declared that its military played its part in ‘meticulously planning’ with Israel in repelling Iranian missiles. The UK too issued similar statements. Given the material and monetary backing US provides to Israel, all its talk for working towards a ceasefire and preventing an escalation is mere rhetoric and hogwash.

Indian government as a strategic partner of both the US and Israel has drifted away from its policy of solidarity with Palestine. It abstained in a UN vote demanding Israel to withdraw from all occupied territories within 12 months. Instead of condemning the targeted assassinations carried out by Israel, Indian government chose to remain silent. The prime minister in his telephonic talk with Netanyahu found time to condemn terrorism, but could not muster the courage to condemn Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza and Lebanon. Indian army chief hailed Israel's pager bombs as a ‘masterstroke’, instead of condemning such attacks. Most shamelessly, the government is allowing the shipment of ammunition parts and drones manufactured in India to be used against Palestinians. All these show how far the BJP-led NDA government shifted our foreign policy – away from standing by the rights of occupied countries to standing with the occupying forces.

Israel’s aggression has reached a critical stage threatening world peace. Any further escalation would be catastrophic. People around the world are rallying against Israel demanding an immediate ceasefire. Workers are refusing to load weapons or allow ships carrying arms to dock. Students are demanding their universities to withdraw from agreements signed with their Israeli counterparts. Such resistance activities should be strengthened in our country too, forcing our government to stop the supply of armaments to Israel and stand in solidarity with Palestine.

(October 2, 2024)