Mohammed Reza Zahedi was one of the most important commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. His death could mark an escalation in the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, the Israeli army withdrew its troops from the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
The Israeli army again bombed various targets in Lebanon and Syria over the Easter weekend. Dozens of Hezbollah fighters and Syrian soldiers are said to have died in Aleppo. On Monday, a building belonging to the Iranian embassy in Damascus was also said to have been hit in an alleged Israeli airstrike. Mohammed Reza Zahedi, one of the highest commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, is apparently among the six dead. This is reported by Iranian media and the Reuters news agency.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian immediately blamed Israel for the attack. An Israeli military spokesman said they do not comment on foreign media reports.
Some observers fear this could represent a further step toward escalation on the border with Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel on October 8 in support of Hamas. Since then, the two sides have been firing at each other across their shared border. Israel managed to inflict significant losses on Hezbollah. In the meantime, up to 250 Shiite militia fighters are said to have died – including members of the feared Radwan elite units and high-ranking commanders. Israel has recently repeatedly threatened to expand its military operations on the border.
Demonstrations and new conversations
It is unclear whether Israel’s public would support such an offensive. Especially since the beleaguered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has still not managed to deal with Hamas – let alone free the remaining Israeli hostages. At the weekend, tens of thousands again took to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The demonstrators demanded, among other things, the resignation of the head of government.
Netanyahu has been under great pressure for some time. His American allies are bothered by his conduct of the war in Gaza. In addition, the debate about possible conscription for the ultra-Orthodox threatens to break up his right-wing religious government coalition. This is probably one of the reasons why the head of government sent a new delegation to Cairo on Sunday for indirect negotiations with Hamas.
The talks about a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange had repeatedly failed recently due to the incompatible positions of the two sides. It is questionable whether they will be successful this time. In any case, Hamas announced that it would not send its own representatives to the Egyptian capital for the time being.
Surgery completed at Shifa Hospital
Meanwhile, Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital ended on Monday. The soldiers involved were withdrawn from Shifa Hospital on the night of Sunday to Monday, said an Israeli military spokesman. According to Israeli sources, since they moved into the already embattled hospital on March 18, the units had fought heavy battles with Hamas and other Palestinian groups there.
Israel said it had arrested a total of 900 suspects during the military operation. 500 of them are allegedly members of terrorist groups. In addition, 200 enemy fighters were killed in the fighting. Among those killed and arrested are said to be high-ranking Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders. Hamas denies this information.
Israel’s army emphasized that the operation at Shifa Hospital was carried out with the staff and patients in mind. However, several Palestinians on the ground accused Israel of killing civilians, according to the Reuters news agency. This cannot be verified. Videos appeared on social networks that apparently show the area around the badly damaged hospital. You can see burned buildings, but also the bodies of people who were killed.
The Israeli army considers the operation in al-Shifa a success. On the other hand, it shows how difficult it is for the troops to bring the situation in the Gaza Strip under control. The area around the hospital was actually considered secure. The army had already carried out a military operation there in November. While the expected offensive against the city of Rafah in the south is still pending, Hamas fighters also appear to be active again in the occupied north of the destroyed coastal strip.