Washington Watching: Israeli Advance Near “Yellow Line” and “Harsh Response” Looms!

لبنان اليوم

Information from “Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath” sources indicates that discussions are underway between Tel Aviv and Washington to expand the scope of the Israeli army’s control in the Gaza Strip by advancing beyond the “Yellow Line.” The sources confirmed that the dialogue is still ongoing between the two parties in this regard.

The sources also clarified that the United States gave its approval for the air strikes carried out by the Israeli army today on Gaza, after the instructions issued by Prime Minister “Benjamin Netanyahu” following his accusation of the “Hamas” movement of violating the ceasefire agreement.

In a related context, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation stated that Israel has decided to expand its control to areas beyond the “Yellow Line,” and that it is coordinating this matter with Washington, and pointed out that this decision came after security consultations held by “Netanyahu” on Tuesday evening to discuss ways to “punish Hamas.” The Corporation quoted an informed source as saying that “Netanyahu” discussed this issue with senior American officials in order to coordinate the implementation process.

In contrast, the “Axios” website quoted an American official as saying that the American administration does not believe that there is a fundamental violation of the agreement by “Hamas,” and urged Israel to avoid any steps that could cause the collapse of the ceasefire agreement. But shortly after, “Netanyahu” held an emergency security meeting with the Minister of Defense “Israel Katz,” Chief of Staff “Eyal Zamir,” and the head of the Shabak “David Zini,” where it was decided to resume raids and expand the area controlled by Israel inside Gaza.

Following this meeting, “Netanyahu’s” office issued a statement stating: “At the conclusion of security consultations, the Prime Minister directed the military leadership to carry out strong and immediate strikes in the Gaza Strip.”

It is worth mentioning that the “Yellow Line” is the first withdrawal line stipulated in the plan of US President “Donald Trump,” within the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between “Hamas” and Israel, which entered into force on the tenth of October.

This line separates the areas under Israeli military presence in the east, and those in which Palestinians are allowed to move within in the west.

Israeli sources also reported that Tel Aviv has stopped allowing “Hamas” elements to move inside the “Yellow Line” to search for the remains of the hostages, in conjunction with the continuation of search operations inside the sector.

The Israeli army had partially withdrawn on October 10 to new positions east of the line, which covers more than 50% of the area of the sector according to its estimates.