‘Israel’s’ So-Called Third Phase of War – Withdrawing From Gaza, Invoking Regional Terror

On the 4th anniversary of the martyrdom anniversary of Hajj Qassem Soleimani, a paralyzing terror attack ripped the bustling streets of Kerman, Iran, where the IRGC resistance leader was commemorated with enormous crowds, murdering over 103 people and injuring over 211 others.

While formally claimed by Daesh, the terror attack comes in the middle of US and Israeli string of assassinations, ongoing terror attacks, and desire to expand its genocidal siege on Gaza to a regional catastrophe, with the crosshairs on Iran. By employing Daesh to target Iran, the US and the Israelis extended their strategy of collective punishment and terror onto the steadfast people of Iran, fanning the flames of instability and terror while washing its own hands clean, claiming (in tune to the logic and disparate reality of economic sanctions) it is only striking leaders – yet in reality, it unleashes a brutal punishment onto a people who reject submission.

The terror attack came a day after the assassination of Beirut-based Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, Israeli Intelligence Chief Haliva threatened that the Zionist entity was able to wage blows to its enemies “from Gaza to Iran.”

Recently, Geneal Yitzhak Barik himself said the occupation army is “sinking into the mud of Gaza” from failure to destroy Hamas and release hostages, goals the Occupation Army vowed as their post-October 7 objectives. Within the first weeks of December, pressure began mounting on the occupation army by its American handlers to wrap up the siege by the New Year.

At the helm of US Defense Minister’s press conference in “Tel Aviv” on December 18, it was clear that Israel had made no substantial gains in Gaza and the ground operation has been a humiliation to the US. This meeting, occurred days after the Zionist entity received humiliating ambushes from Shujayeh on December 13 knocking out entire groups of its elite Golani Brigade. The US aimed at resteering Israeli strategy, which thus far had brought nothing a genocide and destruction, with no advancements to the occupation’s aims at eliminating Hamas. To the contrary – the Zionist entity is more on course to eliminate its own army: Israeli death toll numbers stand at over 500, though, with 5,000 injured soldiers, the actual number is likely much higher.

Ambush after ambush was dealt to the occupation soldiers who failed to account for the dimension of depth mastered by Palestinian Resistance Fighters, catching them by surprise from under the ground to from within corridors of rubble – neutralizing any claims of Israeli advancement on two-dimensional ground gains by physical presence in civilian areas.

On December 21, the Zionist withdrawal of this “elite” brigade began, kicking off the so-called “third phase” of war. With resounding (yet unadmitted) defeat, the Israelis are pulling 5 brigades from Gaza, having not even come close to making a dent in Hamas. It is undeniable that the Palestinian resistance, which is comprised of not only Hamas, but the PIJ, the PFLP, and the DFLP, remains strong and steadfast, unshaken by an army whose colossal investments in military technology, airpower, and surveillance could not compensate for its complete lack of a credible fighting force.

Israel’s Gaza Withdrawal, a Prelude to Full-Out War

Drawing out the humiliation of withdrawal, as the Golani brigade made their first exit from Gaza, “Israel” moved to commit rash assassinations against IRGC resistance leader Mosavi in Damascus, Syria. Weeks later, the occupation moved additional brigades out, with mainly reservists pulled from the Palestinian enclave in preparation for the redirection of attention onto Lebanon.

The occupation army is far from content with its situation in the northern front – with half a million settlers that have evacuated and not coming back – 250,000 of those on the northern front alone – “Israel” is in a desperate attempt to salvage any semblance of security for its occupation, which has been rattled by the weight and precision of Hezbollah attacks which haven’t even begun to demonstrate more than 5% of its capacity.

Yet the US has only enabled “Israel” to dig itself a bigger grave. “Israel” did not notify its main war crimes backer and bankroller, after months of the US urging against a spillover of war and hostilities into Lebanon, pleading “Israel” against war with Hezbollah, sure to hand it a greater and possibly existential-level defeat, with 10 times the arsenal that saw “Israel’s” defeat in 2006.

“Israel’s” desperation has it seeking to pull the US into forcible backing for a greater regional war, even if it has to force it to do so – and Washington heeded the call by assassinating a field leader and member of Iraqi resistance group Hashd al Shaabi – or Popular Mobilization Units.

Moving to score easy victories in the wake of catastrophic losses, the occupation set out to assassinate a Hamas leader based in Lebanon Saleh Al-Arouri in a desperate move to claim victories over having assassinated a Hamas leader. Yet this attack did nothing to change the material reality of the equation on the ground. As Sheikh Al-Arouri mentioned in a recent speech, death and the threat of assassination do nothing to extinguish the momentum of resistance, and, in fact, the blood shed by previous martyrs has historically only strengthened the Palestinian resistance.

As Al-Arouri himself said in an interview in August that “Abu Ammar [Yaser Arafat] was martyred along with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and all the leaders of Hamas. Abu Ali Mustafa [PFLP leader] and thousands of martyrs. Our blood and souls are not more precious or more valued than any martyr. First and last, the martyr who preceded us is superior to us.”

These comments were made following Netanyahu’s threats to assassinate Arouri in August, and the Israeli PM’s resolve to ignite a destructive, regional fire in order to buy time out of jail and stall the inevitable internal collapse amidst the occupation’s internal discord. The last two years saw mounting corruption charges against Netanyahu, widespread opposition, and protests among occupying settlers to a judicial reform measure proposed 1 year ago that would seek to remove court overview and remove the little obstacles standing in the way of Netanyahu’s impunity.

All the while, with the Resistance Axis more emboldened, it is the US and “Israel” that face grim horizons, digging deeper its own grave and its rabid dog-like lashing out in reaction in its final moments. As Imam Khomeini said – “kill us – our nation will become more awakened.”