AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime’s war minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday called the Oct. 7 operation by Hamas the “biggest failure” in the history of the Zionist regime’s army.
“This forum has experienced the greatest failure… in IDF (the Zionist regime’s army) and military establishment history this year,” Gallant said at a session of the army’s General Staff Forum.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian resistance group Hamas launched an operation, dubbed Al-Aqsa Storm, into the Israeli-occupied territories during which around 1,200 people were killed and scores were held captive.
The Zionist regime’s army has since launched a brutal military aggression on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 96,400 others.
The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with the Israeli army launching massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets, killing more than 1,057 people and injuring over 2,950 others since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Several Hezbollah commanders have been martyred in the assault, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The international community has warned that Zionist regime’s attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, warned that Israel’s expansion of the war into Lebanon and Yemen will only result in more displaced people and civilians suffering.
He said that more than 100,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing the Israeli airstrikes while over 200,000 others have been internally displaced inside Lebanon.
In a post on X, Grandi added that relief operations are underway to help those in need, in coordination with the Lebanese and Syrian governments.
He noted that the Israeli airstrikes have targeted homes and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, resulting in the killing of entire families and an unprecedented mass displacement.
He stressed the importance of protecting civilians and meeting their basic needs, whether they decide to flee or stay, stressing that they are not a target.
For his part, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said the Israeli raids on Lebanon have forced thousands of people, including Palestinian refugees, to flee their homes, noting that seven shelters have been opened to receive displaced families and which currently hosts 1,600 people, including Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians.
Lazzarini stressed that many of the displaced are suffering from psychological trauma as a result of the ongoing shelling and uncertainty, warning that further expansion of the war will only lead to more suffering for civilians.