Israel is becoming increasingly isolated after the attack on the Iranian consulate and the death of aid workers in Gaza

The death toll after the Israeli attacks on an annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus has risen to thirteen. State television in Tehran reported on Tuesday that the victims were seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and six Syrians. The attack further increases tensions between Israel and Iran. The latter has been providing support to the Palestinian organization Hamas for decades in the form of rockets, training of soldiers and intelligence. Iran also provides support to Hezbollah, which regularly attacks Israel from southern Lebanon.

Among the victims at the Damascus consulate were Commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi, both leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and reportedly responsible for coordinating military actions in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. These actions often target Israel. Israel does not comment on the attack, but anonymous sources report via American media that the slain Iranians are said to have been responsible for many attacks on Israeli and American targets and that they were preparing attacks.

Responsible

Although Israel remains silent about the attack in Syria, it did acknowledge responsibility for the deaths of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army spoke in a statement of a ‘tragic incident’ during an Israeli attack on Hamas positions. The death of the partly foreign employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen led to outraged reactions worldwide.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a comprehensive investigation and said the victims’ governments had been contacted. They came from Australia, Poland, Great Britain and Canada. The dead also included a Palestinian employee of World Central Kitchen, which delivers 170,000 hot meals daily in the cities of Rafah and Deir al-Balah. The organization has suspended that work for the time being. Netanyahu vowed to “do everything to ensure that something like this cannot happen again.”

In addition to the many civilian casualties and the threat of famine, newborn mortality now appears to have risen sharply, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Several doctors, especially in maternity hospitals, are reporting that they are seeing a significant increase in the number of low birth weight newborns who are simply not making it through the neonatal phase because they are born too small,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris.

She also said of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City: “It is no longer able to function as a hospital in any form.” Since mid-March, the Israeli army has been conducting an intense military operation around and in what was once the largest hospital in the entire Gaza Strip.

Tensions

All these developments come in a context of increasing tensions between the US government and the Israeli government. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh previously stated that the Americans want to hear what Israeli plans are for any operation in Rafah, a densely populated region. Israel has indicated that it will take into account US concerns about the planned offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Israel reports that a new proposal has been drawn up to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has yet to respond to this, says Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office. The Israeli delegation returned from Cairo, where negotiations took place. The statement said that Israeli officials believe that mediator Qatar is not putting enough pressure on Hamas to reach a compromise.

The previous ceasefire in Gaza dates back to November. Then, after international mediation, hostages held by Hamas were released. In return, Israel released Palestinian prisoners.