Tension increased… Is Israel not even listening to America this time?

Arun Singh, New Delhi: There is an atmosphere of concern all over the world due to the increasing tension between Israel and Iran. This tension can affect everything from oil and fertilizer prices to maritime trade and the US presidential election. This tension did not increase suddenly, it has been increasing since the Hamas attack on October 7 last year. Since this attack, Israel has been taking air and ground action in Gaza. This conflict started with the Hamas attack on October 7 last year. So far, more than 40,000 people have been killed in this action and about 20 lakh people have become homeless.Israel is adamant on completely eliminating Hamas
The situation has become such that now the people of Gaza are facing shortage of food items and the health services here have also collapsed. Countries like America, Egypt and Qatar have tried hard for a ceasefire, but no significant results have been achieved so far. One reason for this is that Israel wants to completely destroy Hamas, while Hamas is adamant on the demand for a ‘permanent’ ceasefire.

More than 100 Israeli citizens have been captured by Hamas since October 7 last year and it is not clear how many of them are still alive. In many countries around the world, anger against Israel is increasing and its actions are being criticized. Recently Israel stopped the United Nations Secretary General from coming to the country. Although Israel is getting support in many European countries, especially America, a large part of the Arab and Muslim population living in America and some leaders of the Democratic Party are opposing it.

This time Israel’s attack is different from 2006
Tension has also increased on the border between Israel and Lebanon. In response to the continuous attacks by Hezbollah over the past year, Israel has intensified air strikes and also started ground operations. These attacks have left 70,000 people living in northern Israel homeless. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and many of his/her senior military commanders have been killed in this action. Israel had also launched a similar campaign in 2006, but it was not able to harm the Hezbollah leadership.

During the action against Hezbollah, Israel also targeted supplies coming from Iran via Syria. Apart from this, Israel also targeted Iranian officials in Syria and Lebanon who were providing help to Hezbollah. Many in Iran believe the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran in July is a violation of their sovereignty. On October 1, Iran launched an attack with 180 ballistic missiles, a much larger number than in previous attacks. Many of these missiles were successful in reaching their targets.

Will America continue to support Israel?
Israel believes that showing strength is the only solution to keep its neighbors under control, hence it is believed that this time it will definitely respond to Iran. All of Israel’s allies, including America, want this conflict to end as soon as possible. America’s focus is currently on the Russia-Ukraine war. America has so far given approximately $100 billion in aid to Ukraine. President Biden had talked about reducing US military activity abroad during his/her 2020 presidential election campaign. The withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 was seen under this strategy. However, there is no dearth of people in America who appeal for full support to Israel.

Many people say that Netanyahu is able to ignore America’s ceasefire recommendations because he/she understands well the political compulsions of the American President. American rivals like Russia and China will try to take advantage of this situation. At the same time, India will also be worried about the safety of 90 lakh Indians living in Gulf countries. If America imposes further sanctions on Iran, many policy challenges may arise for India. (The author is a former Ambassador of India to the US and Israel.)