After pro-Iran allies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq were all hit in suspected Israeli strikes in the space of less than 24 hours, signalling a new aggression out of Tel Aviv and willingness to risk yet another major Middle East war, Arab capitals are now alerting their armed forces to be on a war footing.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Monday condemned the "Israeli assault on the southern suburbs of Beirut" and told the country's United Nations Special Coordinator, that the recent spate of drone strikes on Lebanon amount to a "declaration of war".
Especially in Lebanon, where the most powerful military force is not the Army but Shiite paramilitary group Hezbollah, tensions are soaring after Hezbollah media offices in Beirut were targeted by Israeli drones overnight Sunday.
New Video of alleged Israel strikes in east Lebanon ~ an hour ago, targeting Palestinian Group PFLP.— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 26, 2019
If true, this may be 4th military incident in Lebanon-Syria-Iraq involving Israel in 24 hours. Via @tobiaschneiderpic.twitter.com/RGLjEaWFyw
A separate Israeli operation the day following reached deep into Lebanon, killing a PFLP-GC leader in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley (a Palestinian paramilitary group).
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah described the weekend aggression during televised remarks addressing the crisis as marking the first Israeli attacks inside Lebanon since the devastating month-long 2006 war; however, Israel has yet to claim the Beirut attack.
One of the obvious and expected consequences or instances of 'blowback' from Israel's unprecedented decision to extend its "anti-Iran" campaign into Iraq, with three airstrikes widely blamed on either Israeli drones or possibly F-35s in the last five weeks, is that it will force a deepening conflict between Iraq's military and US coalition forces.
There's long been a broad base of Iraqi support that would like to see the American presence completely out of the country with the Islamic State long defeated, but now that political bloc just got a lot stronger in the wake of the alleged Israeli raids, at least one of which US officials have already admitted Israel bore responsibility for (a July 19 attack on a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Amirli). A powerful pro-Iran faction of parliament has called Israel's alleged attacks "a declaration of war".
The Associated Press reports in the aftermath of yet another Israeli drone strike targeting and killing a Kataeb Hezbollah leader in al-Qaim, Iraq near the Syrian border that, "A powerful bloc in Iraq's parliament is calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq following a series of airstrikes blamed on Israel targeting Iran-backed Shiite militias in the country."
The influential and powerful Fatah Coalition, representing the country's pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) issued a statement Monday holding the United States responsible for facilitation Israeli aggression on Iraqi soil, “which we consider to be a declaration of war on Iraq and its people,” the statement said. The statement noted further that American troops are no longer needed and only now serve to jeopardize Iraqi national security.
PMF commanders and officials have over the past weeks been the most vocal part of Iraq's military and government blaming the recent spate of devastating attacks on Israel; however, following last week's explosion at a base outside Baghdad - believed the result of an Israeli airstrike - it appears this view is now gaining support even from the prime minister's office amid an ongoing official investigation into the blasts.
Footage showing the August 12th arms depot blast, widely blamed on Israel. Another strike on a munitions storage depot occurred on Aug. 20, and before this a July 19 attack grabbed headlines.
Last week Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi had called for an end to all “unauthorized flights” including US drones, spy planes, jets, or helicopters. The directive demanded that all aerial vehicles comply with Iraqi law and operations must be under Iraqi government authorization.
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