A bit more from our interview with Isaac Herzog now – turning toward the situation in Gaza.
As we reported in our 6.10am post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said that Hamas rejected the latest proposal for a deal to return Israeli hostages.
When pressed by a reporter on his reaction to that news, the Israeli president indicated that this latest rejection meant further Israeli action in the enclave was likely.
“[This is the] fifth time in a row that we have offered new [ceasefire] suggestions and they (Hamas) have rejected it,” he said.
“It’s about time that the world realised that they (Hamas) don’t really want to move into a deal and therefore we have to take necessary action in order to bring the hostages back home,” he added.
An offensive in the city of Rafah has been expected for some time, while Western allies to Israel have strongly urged the government not to attack what is the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians.
Hezbollah lauds Iranian attack
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah group has praised Tehran’s aerial attack on Israel.
It described the move to attack Israel as a “brave” decision, adding Iran had exercised its legal rights despite “threats, intimidation and pressure”.
The group, based in Lebanon, has been engaged in clashes with Israeli forces on the border since the war against Hamas broke out.
Iran has backed, funded, and trained several proxy group across the Middle East region to varying degrees, including Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and a number of other factions based in Syria and Iraq.
