«Israel underestimated the severity of Tehran’s response». Counteroffensive only after the end of Passover

The Israeli army announced that it had killed “the terrorist Yussef Rafik Ahmed Shabat, head of the Hamas Internal Investigations Department in Beit Hanun”, in the north of the Strip. The military spokesperson made this known according to which «Shabat served as a security officer in the Hamas military intelligence in the Beit Hanun Battalion». “The elimination of him – he added – significantly damages the investigation department of the terrorist organization.” The same source added that in a raid “a vehicle in which there were ten terrorists” was hit.

Israel miscalculated Iran’s response to the attack that destroyed Tehran’s consulate in Damascus. And this miscalculation could cause the much feared escalation in the region. The New York Times writes this, citing several American officials involved in high-level discussions after the attack and a senior Israeli official. “The Israelis made a serious miscalculation in thinking that Iran would not react forcefully,” the newspaper said. The New York Times writes that US officials were angry that they were informed only minutes before the Israeli attack on Damascus and that they were not told its significance. Two Israeli officials told the New York Times that plans for the attack began two months before it was carried out and that it was approved by the war cabinet on March 22.

It is unlikely that Israel will attack Iran before the end of the Jewish Passover which begins on Monday 22 April and ends on the 29th. This was stated by a US source on the ABC broadcaster, reported by the Israeli media. The same source, however, added that “everything can always change”. He then stressed that Pasdaran commanders and other Iranian leadership are still in a high alert situation, with some hiding in safe houses and underground facilities.

An Egyptian source told the London-based Arab newspaper ‘Al-Araby Al-Jadeed’ that the US agreed to the plan for military action in Rafah in exchange for a limited attack on Iran. Haaretz reported it, but at the moment there is no confirmation in Israel.

After yesterday’s launches from Lebanon, the Israeli army overnight struck “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in the Khiam area, “including a number of terror and other military infrastructures”. “Furthermore – said the military spokesman – the soldiers fired to remove an imminent threat in the area”.