Analysis
Lebanon, Gaza, Syria: Israel gets a free pass
Since the start of the ceasefire and the entry into force of the so-called “Trump Plan,” Israel has killed 280 people.
While Washington was celebrating “peace” in the Middle East, Tel Aviv was preparing to send a direct message to international leaders, Hamas leaders and Palestinians everywhere: Israel is free to strike whoever it wants, wherever it wants, and whenever it wants.
On Tuesday evening, Lebanon was shaken by a surprise air strike that caused a massacre in the crowded Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh. The Israeli army claimed to have hit a “Hamas training base,” but testimonies from doctors and family members tell of young boys blown to pieces while playing soccer. The area hit included a mosque, a sports field and social and recreational facilities.
“They say they targeted terrorists, but in reality, they only targeted civilians,” a Palestinian refugee from southern Lebanon told us immediately after the strikes. “The building hit had a center for Quran study and memorization and a playground. The sound of the explosions is still in the air.”
“None of the bodies were complete,” Rida Kanso, head of the emergency room at Labib Hospital in Sidon, told the Lebanese newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour. Demonstrations of anger and protest over the massacre were held in Ain al-Hilweh and also in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut. Hezbollah said that the attack represented a “flagrant violation” of Lebanese sovereignty and of the ceasefire reached between the group and Israel a year ago. In reality, Tel Aviv has never stopped bombing during this time, and it didn't stop with that Palestinian refugee camp. On Wednesday, it attacked several villages in the south, issuing illegitimate evacuation orders within Lebanon’s borders. Airstrikes hit Deir Kifa and Chehour, and then the towns of Aynata and Tayr Felsay. Tel Aviv claimed to have targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. Witnesses speak of destroyed civilian homes.
In Gaza too, since the start of the ceasefire, not a day passes without Israel killing or wounding someone. Civil defense authorities reported an escalation of attacks on Wednesday, causing at least 25 deaths across the Strip. According to medical sources, five Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were killed in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. On Salah al-Din Street, a drone fired on a crowd, killing one person and injuring ten. Three other victims resulted from an attack on an UNRWA building in Khan Younis and another one in Shujaiya. The Israeli military also said it had hit and killed several Palestinians who had allegedly crossed the “yellow line.” Since the start of the ceasefire and the entry into force of the so-called “Trump Plan,” Israel has killed 280 people.
While the Israeli army relentlessly attacked Gaza and Lebanon, Prime Minister Netanyahu, along with the Chief of Staff, the Defense Minister and the Foreign Minister took a walk in Syria, in the area Tel Aviv has illegally occupied since December 2024. At the same time, Ben Gvir explained to the Knesset that the death penalty law for Palestinians who kill Jews must be implemented within 90 days, via lethal injection and with no possibility of appeal.
Anyone who doesn’t believe the words of peace and love uttered by U.S. President Donald Trump might almost think the Netanyahu government is doing everything possible to provoke an armed response from its neighbors. And indeed, the rhetoric has become fiery in Lebanon and Gaza. The government of self-elected Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa could not remain silent either.
Hezbollah warned Lebanese leaders that showing leniency will only lead to more massacres. Hamas declared that the attack on Ain al-Hilweh demands a collective Palestinian response, calling on factions to relaunch a national front to defend refugee rights. The Syrian foreign minister said Netanyahu's walk was “a new attempt to impose a fait accompli that contradicts relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and falls within the occupation’s policies aimed at entrenching its aggression and continuing its violations of Syrian territory.”
According to the Lebanese daily Al Mayadeen, which is close to Hezbollah, this same drive to sow discord also led Israel to exert pressure to prevent a meeting between U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya.
Meanwhile, in Washington, talk continues about a world that does not exist. During a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump declared that people in Gaza have never felt as safe as they do right now and that Israel will respect the agreements, thereby proving itself a reliable partner to guarantee the “normalization” the White House so desperately craves.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/libano-gaza-siria-mani-libere-israele-celebra-il-voto-allonu on 2025-11-20