Axis Of Resistance Increases Pressure On Israel

The war has so far claimed the lives of more than 33,000 Palestinians and wounded over 75,000 others. Most of the wounded were women and children. Despite the heavy human cost on the Palestinian side, Israel has so far failed to achieve any of its stated goals of the war.

Hamas and other factions are still showing fierce resistance. This became clear on April 7 when four members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were killed and several others were wounded in the area of al-Zanah near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis in a complex ambush set up by Hamas fighters. The death of the four brought the toll of Israeli troops killed in ground operations in the strip to 260. More than 1,550 others have been wounded, so far.

Shortly after the ambush, the IDF announced that the 98th Paratroopers Division had withdrawn all of its brigades from Khan Younis, including the Commando Brigade that took the latest losses. This brought the city back under Hamas control.

In addition to its failures in Gaza, the IDF continues to struggle against Hezbollah on the front with Lebanon. The group escalated attacks in recent days. On April 6, an Israeli Hermes 900 combat drone was shot down by Hezbollah. On April 7, the group fired dozens of rockets at the headquarters of the IDF’s air and missile defense command in the Keila barracks as well as the missile and artillery base in the settlement of Yoav, both located in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Israel has been also facing more and more attacks from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI). The group launched at least 17 attacks against targets in Israel, mostly bases of the IDF and infrastructure, using suicide drones and cruise missiles between April 2 and 10.

The most notable attack by the IRI was on April 8 when a drone launched by the group was intercepted by a Sa’ar 6-class corvette over the port of Eilat in southern Israel. The drone was apparently just seconds away from hitting the warship.

The escalation by the Axis of Resistance comes as the IDF braces for a possible Iranian strike on its territory in response to the April 1 Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, which claimed the lives of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members.

Tehran appears to be determined to respond to the strike. The only way out for Israel may be to end the war in Gaza and withdraw its remaining troops from the Strip.

Mirrored - South Front