In Israel, a national security move shook the country: the head of intelligence, Aharon Haliva, announced the resignation, taking responsibility for the recent security failures that allowed Hamas to launch the October 7 attack. An unprecedented gesture that highlighted the internal tensions regarding the management of the conflict with the Palestinian movement. Meanwhile, the prime minister Netanyahu announced a further escalation of operations against Hamas claiming that this “is the only way to free our hostages and achieve victory”. At the same time, he rejected the idea of US sanctions for "human rights violations" in the West Bank. While the situation with theIran seems relatively calm, the raids on Gaza and military operations in the West Bank continue, and Israel is preparing to celebrate the Jewish Passover with strengthened security measures throughout the country, including Jerusalem.
Moving toUkraine, shipments of US military aid are ready to restart "as soon as the aid package, which has been blocked for some time, becomes law" - according to what US officials say -, but on the ground Kiev is facing losses of territory in the face ofRussian advance in Dometsk Oblast. Moscow announced that its forces had gained ground near the key battlefield town of Khasiv Yar. This is why the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has launched an urgent appeal to the US asking for rapid delivery of aid to counter the rapidly growing threat.
Israel: attacks against Rafah, at least 22 dead
Israel continued the attacks against Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 Palestinians, including 18 minors. Israeli Foreign Minister Katz fueled further tensions by publishing images of the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower, allegedly targeted by Iranian missiles. This gesture sparked concern and led to Tajani's appeal to "avoid creating panic" as the start of Passover approaches.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy, made a strong appeal for Israel to avoid attacks on Rafah and protect civilians. “We are making every possible effort to convince Israel not to attack Rafah and to ensure the safety of the people,” Borrell said upon his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. He stressed that an Israeli attack could cause the deaths of over a million people and reiterated the urgent need to avoid an escalation of violence.
Rockets launched from Iraq on a US base in Syria
Tension increases in the region after several rockets were launched from the north ofIraq towards a base of the anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States in Syria. Iraqi security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least five rockets were fired from the Iraqi town of Zummar, northwest of Mosul, towards a US military base in northeast Syria. This event marks the first attack against American forces since early February, when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their offensive actions against US troops. The attack occurred shortly after the return of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani from a visit to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden.
In a note released by the Iraqi security forces, we read that "outlaw elements hit an international coalition base in the heart of Syrian territory with rockets at around 21pm" local time. The authorities have launched an extensive search and inspection operation to identify the perpetrators of the attacks.
Russian attacks in Ukraine; the US Senate prepares to vote on aid
Last night, the Russia led a attack against Ukraine using seven Shahed drones and three S-300/S-400 air defense missiles. The Ukrainian Defense Forces reported successfully shooting down five attack drones and one Orlan-10 tactical drone in the Odessa region.
After a long period of stalemate and negotiations, the Camera American has finally given the go-ahead to a robust one aid package, allocating as many as 61 billion dollars to Ukraine (26 will go to Israel and 8 to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region) with a transversal majority. The final green light should arrive on Tuesday 23 April with the vote of Senate. This move has raised concerns in Russia, which has warned of the disastrous potential of increased American involvement in the conflict, likening it to a possible "Vietnam-style fiasco." At the same time, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban suggested that the West could be close to sending troops to Ukraine: “This is a vortex of war that can drag Europe into the abyss. Brussels plays with fire. We don't want this war and we don't want Hungary to go back to being the toy of the great powers." Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union is being held in Luxembourg to discuss the situation.
Greece e Spain are under pressure from their EU and NATO allies to supply additional air defense systems to Ukraine, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers today, Monday 22 April. EU leaders have urged Spanish and Greek prime ministers Pedro Sánchez and Kyriakos Mitsotakis to contribute some of their defense systems, the Financial Times reported. Spain and Greece have more than a dozen Patriot systems and others such as the S-300s.
Zelensky: “Russians want to conquer Khasiv Yar by May 9”
The Ukrainian president has warned that Russia aims to conquer the town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk, Donbass, by 9 May. “Russia wants to mobilize 300 thousand fighters to send to fight in Ukraine by June 9st and before that, by May XNUMXth, the day on which the Russians celebrate the victory over Nazism in the Second World War, they aim to occupy the town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk, Donbass”. Zelensky stated this in his evening speech, commenting on the US Chamber's green light for war aid to Kiev. “I was recently in the region and spoke to fighters. The fighters do not have the equipment to fight Russian reconnaissance drones, which accurately correct Russian artillery fire, and there is also a shortage of artillery shells. I expect that we will be able to resist the arrival of weapons in time and will be able to repel the enemy. And then destroy Russia's plans for a large-scale counteroffensive in June,” concluded the Ukrainian leader, quoted by Ukrinform.
