World Weekly： The situation in the Middle East is heading for a ＂danger zone＂

This week, the building of the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Syria was shocked by a missile attack on April 1.

Iran identified the perpetrator as Israel and vowed to "punish" the other side.

In any case, launching a direct attack on a country’s sovereign embassy abroad is a move that clearly crosses the "red line" and further leads the conflict in the Middle East to a "dangerous area".

CNN believes that "this may be the most dangerous escalation outside Gaza since the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict".

At about 17 o’clock on April 1, in Damascus, the capital of Syria, the consular building next to the Iranian Embassy collapsed after the air raid, and only the gate was still standing.

Witness Ismail: It was a strong blow. We felt that the building was going to fall down and the explosion was in our house. I didn’t know what to say.

The top two floors of this five-story building are the residence of the Iranian ambassador. When the incident happened, Ambassador akbari was somewhere else and escaped.

Afterwards, he told the media at the scene of the attack that Israeli F-35 fighter planes fired six missiles at the Iranian Embassy in Syria from the direction of the Golan Heights, and at that time, there were many Iranian military advisers as guests, preparing to enjoy the "fast food" after sunset in the building.

Iranian Ambassador to Syria Hussein akbari: Five to seven people were killed in the attack and two policemen guarding the embassy were injured.

In addition to seven Iranian military personnel, six Syrians were killed. What attracted the most attention from the outside world was that the victims also included Zahedi, the senior commander of quds force, a subordinate of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and his deputy Lahemi.

This is the highest-ranking commander of the Iranian military who was assassinated after Soleimani was killed in an American air strike in Baghdad in 2020.

Ahmed, Senior Diplomatic Reporter of Huffington Post: The killed commander Zahedi was the contact between Iran and many of its agents, especially Hezbollah and related organizations in Syria. So he is very valuable and important to Iran.

According to the Axios website of the United States, Israeli intelligence agencies have been tracking Zahedi for a long time.

An Israeli official revealed that the "action window" for Zahedi has just opened in recent days.

Syrian Foreign Minister Mekdad: We strongly condemn this criminal act of the Zionist enemy, which resulted in the death of some innocent citizens passing through this street. Therefore, we once again emphasize our position with the Iranian embassy and Iranian brothers, and we guarantee that Syria and Iran will not forget their enemies.

The Israeli military did not comment on whether to launch the attack afterwards, but Israeli military spokesman Hagari argued in an interview with CNN that the attacked building was not a consulate or embassy, but a "military building" used by the Iranian "quds force".

The New York Times reported that four Israeli officials who did not want to be named admitted that Israel had carried out the attack.

Mohammed Khalid Shiari, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Middle East and Asia-Pacific Affairs: Although Israel rarely claims responsibility for these incidents, its officials have repeatedly acknowledged its military actions in Syria and hinted that more such actions will occur in the future.

This is a dangerous move, and Israel has crossed the red line and the rules of engagement between the two parties to the conflict. Omari, an expert on Syrian international issues, wrote on social platforms: The impact of this incident is greater than the assassination of Soleimani!

Ahmed, a senior diplomatic correspondent of Huffington Post: The question is not only who was killed, but also where he was killed. Israel chose to target diplomatic facilities. Iran has indicated that Zahedi and other target personnel all hold diplomatic passports, so from their point of view, Israel has seriously violated diplomatic norms.

CNN said that Israel’s attack on the Iranian embassy was "a major upgrade" in terms of the location and target of the attack. The international media also generally stressed that attacking a country’s embassy building is equivalent to attacking its territory.

Mohammed Khalid Shiari, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Middle East and Asia-Pacific Affairs: The inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected under all circumstances in accordance with international law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member States must be respected in accordance with international law.

Israel’s "bombing" action, which clearly violates international law, is extremely provocative.

The New York Times commented that this was "one of the deadliest attacks" in the Israeli-Iranian "shadow war" for many years.

Previously, this hidden contest was mainly manifested in Israel’s assassination of Iranian military leaders or nuclear scientists.

The reason why Israel took such dangerous "stepping on the line" actions as attacking diplomatic institutions this time is related to the overall situation in the Middle East.

Ramazan Sharif, spokesman of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: The Israeli attack was regarded as revenge for its frustration in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but they got nothing and may soon face a more destructive blow.

By April 7, 2024, it has been half a year since the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out.

The escalating conflict has allowed non-state actors such as Houthi armed forces to join, and at the same time, it has gradually evolved the Palestinian-Israeli contradiction into a structural contradiction between the "resistance alliance" led by Israel and Iran.

In fact, after the escalation of the conflict in Gaza, Israel has already stepped up its crackdown on targets in Syria, claiming that this is related to Iran’s provision of arms, funding and training to Hezbollah and other armed groups.

However, for a long time, the geopolitical game between Israel and Iran has been mainly manifested as "proxy war", which is conducted in an indirect and circuitous way.

Izadi, an Iranian political analyst: An Israeli attack on Iranian personnel or property is bound to pay a price.

In the early morning of January 16th, 2024, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement that it had launched a total of 24 missiles at "terrorism-related" targets in Iraq, Syria and other places, of which 11 missiles attacked the Israeli Mossad institutions in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Izadi, an Iranian political analyst: Since Iran can attack Idlib, then Iran can also attack Tel Aviv. So the warning to Israel is to be careful when making decisions about Iran, because Iran is bound to be able to fight back.

The escalation of tension between Iraq and Israel and Israel’s gradual predicament in Gaza finally prompted Israel to take risks.

The BBC commented that the "bombing" action showed that Israel wanted to test Iran’s bottom line and at the same time sent a pressure signal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: For many years, Iran has been opposing us directly or through its agents, so Israel has been opposing Iran and its agents in defense and attack. We will know how to protect ourselves, and we will act according to such a simple principle that no matter who hurts us or plans to hurt us, we will hurt him.

From the outside world, Israel has "lost its mind", which also means that the tacit understanding of direct conflict between Iraq and Israel has been broken.

Iranian Protesters: Everyone expects a tougher response from Iran.

On April 5, Iran held a funeral for the victims, and thousands of people took to the streets of Tehran to protest against Israel.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Israel’s failure will continue. Their desperate attempt is just like what they did in Syria, and they will certainly be punished for it.

On the same day, Hussein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said: "No threat will go unanswered!"

Israel temporarily closed 28 embassies abroad and instructed other embassies abroad to strengthen security measures.

According to reports, the US intelligence department warned Israel that Iran may attack Israel in the next 48 hours.

The New York Times and other media have analyzed that there are many ways for Iran to retaliate, including reciprocal retaliation against Israeli diplomatic institutions, drone attacks or missile attacks against Israel, and strikes against Israeli targets through agents.

On April 3rd, the pro-Iran members of the "Resistance Alliance" expressed their support for Iran on the eve of the "Al-Quds Day" established by Iran to support Palestine, that is, "Jerusalem Day".

Abdul houthi, leader of Houthi armed forces: Since the beginning of the "Al-Aqsa Flood Campaign", we have done our best to provide support.

"The Middle East is once again on the brink of crisis …" This is the focus of this week’s major media comments on the situation in Iraq and Israel. The bombing of the consulate is likely to become a major risk point for the escalation or spillover of the conflict, but the root cause of the tension between Iraq and Israel is still Palestine and Israel.

As Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein said, "Everything is closely related to what is happening in Gaza".

Behind Israel’s entry into the "danger zone" is the internal and external difficulties faced by Netanyahu’s government.

At the same time, Israel’s Ha ‘aretz revealed that the Israeli army’s practice of setting up a so-called "kill zone" by itself also caused public outcry.

Related to this, the border of Gaza’s "danger zone" is still expanding under the background that the UN Security Council resolution explicitly calls for a ceasefire.

On the evening of April 1st, in the middle of Palestinian Gaza Strip. Shortly after the attack on the Iranian Embassy in Syria, the charity World Central Kitchen, which was delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, was also attacked by Israeli forces.

Gaza people: My tent is 100 meters or 150 meters over there. We heard the attack and rushed to the scene and found people gathered around the car.

Israeli drones fired three missiles at three vehicles of the aid convoy, resulting in the death of all seven staff members, including Zomi.

Zomi Frankcombe, 43, an Australian, works for the World Central Kitchen.

In the eyes of friends, she is a selfless person with a sunny smile.

Zomi’s former friend: People like Zomi are selfless, and all they do is because of their love for mankind.

Zahra Ershadi, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations: Just today, this regime (Israel) killed the rescuers of the "World Central Kitchen" in Gaza. As the UN Under-Secretary-General emphasized, they were "heroes who died while providing food for the hungry".

Under the pressure of international public condemnation, on April 5th, the Israeli army announced the investigation results of the incident, saying that the attack on the rescue vehicle was a serious mistake caused by "mistaken identification". The Israeli army regarded the rescuers as Hamas militants, and later dismissed two officers involved.

The "World Central Kitchen" issued a statement saying that the logo of the organization was printed on the body and top of the three attacked cars. At that time, they were transporting more than 100 tons of food aid to a warehouse in Deir Balah, and they also coordinated with Israel before the action.

Gaza reporter Satari: For the Israeli army, the personnel coordinates are very clear, which is an agreement that has been followed since the beginning of the war. Every humanitarian aid worker in Gaza, whether coordinating, assisting, distributing food or doing other work, has been recognized by the Israeli army, but the attack just happened. I think it is the responsibility of the Israeli government to explain this, not to defend the killing itself, but to uncover the mystery that led to this catastrophic event.

In fact, this is not an isolated incident.

Indiscriminately classifying civilians entering a certain area as "terrorists" has become the "standard operating procedure" of the Israeli army.

Turkish News Anchor: Palestinian civilians were killed by the Israel Defense Forces and later described as Hamas militants, just because they strayed into Israel’s so-called "kill zone".

On March 31st, Ha ‘aretz, Israel, exposed the fact that the Israeli army set up a so-called "kill zone" in the Gaza.

The "kill zone" refers to the closed military zone designated by Israeli troops around their stopping place, usually an abandoned building.

An Israeli reserve officer said, "As long as someone enters, mainly an adult male, Israeli soldiers will be ordered to shoot, even if that person is unarmed."

This "kill zone" is not clearly marked, and the specific scope is decided by the commander present. Ha ‘aretz, citing Israeli defense officials and other people familiar with the matter, reported that some commanders and even senior commanders did whatever they wanted in Gaza.

Turkish News Anchor: If you are a Palestinian and accidentally enter the so-called "kill zone", the IDF will immediately take action to mark you as an armed man in Hamas.

According to the results released by the Israeli army, after the rocket attack on the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, the Israeli army eliminated an Hamas militant who fired rockets from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

However, the video released by Qatar Al Jazeera shows that when the Israeli army carried out the above-mentioned attack, four men dressed in casual clothes walked together on a wide road. An Israeli drone suddenly launched a missile, and two men died immediately. The other two were injured and tried to escape. A few seconds later, they were hit by the third and fourth missiles.

This is just one example of that kil of palestinians by Israeli army in Gaza. In January this year, the Israeli military announced that it had killed about 9,000 "terrorists" in the Gaza on the occasion of the 100th day of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Uygul, American political critic: As of April 2, among the 32,000 victims, 23,000 were women and children. When you count women and children as terrorists, it’s strange, and the Israel Defense Forces know this, so it’s easy to be caught, because it doesn’t hold water mathematically. Israel once claimed to eliminate 12,000 terrorists, and later changed the number to 9,000 to make it look more reasonable, because these are all men.

According to Ha ‘aretz, even some Israeli army commanders expressed doubts about the statement of 9,000 "terrorists". They suggest that some Palestinians who have never held a gun in their lives are likely to be defined as "terrorists" by the Israeli military after being killed.

A series of recent "cross-border" actions by the Israeli army have also worried the United States about being implicated.

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator of the White House National Security Council: Earlier today, President Biden had the opportunity to talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The President stressed by telephone that it is unacceptable to attack humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Biden’s move is his helpless choice under various pressures in the election year.

On April 2nd, the White House held a meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza.

Ahmed, a Palestinian-American doctor who volunteered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, left midway to protest.

Ahmed said, "It is meaningless for us to talk about the ongoing famine while eating bread."

Before leaving, he handed Biden a letter from Hadl, an 8-year-old orphan girl from Rafah.

"President Biden, I beg you to stop them from entering Rafah!" -Rafa girl Hadl’s letter

Doctor Ahmed: I handed Biden the letter from orphan Hadl and left the meeting.

Moderator: What did Biden say?

Doctor Ahmed: He just looked at the letter and said he understood.

The poll released by the Arab American Institute shows that the support rate of Arab voters in the United States, including "swing states", is falling off a cliff, which makes the United States have to consider "appropriate cutting" with Israel.

On March 25th, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2728, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza during Ramadan.

This is the first ceasefire resolution adopted by the Security Council in the six months since the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The United States, which vetoed the ceasefire resolution four times before, abstained from voting, so that the resolution was passed with 14 votes in favor and the United States abstained.

Muhammad Tarabin, a Rafah citizen: Recently, the United States seems to have changed its position, but this is not the case. All this is because the American election needs votes from Palestinian or Arab voters in the United States. I think all this is propaganda for the election.

However, western public opinion still believes that this is the most important turning point of the position of the United States against Israel since the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

As a protest, the Israeli side cancelled the itinerary of the government delegation scheduled to go to Washington to discuss Rafah.

However, shortly after the resolution was passed, the White House declared that it was "not binding", while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the "common interests" of the United States and Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: This is a bigger battle. Our battle is your (American) battle, and our victory is your victory. If they … if we don’t win, it will have a great impact on American security and our common future.

In the eyes of some media, behind the apparent confidence, Netanyahu is experiencing the biggest political crisis since he took office.

March 23rd, Tel Aviv, Israel. Thousands of Israelis blocked the roads in the city center, lit fires, and demonstrated to protest against the demand for a ceasefire by the Israeli government in Gaza, to facilitate the release of detainees as soon as possible, and to demand Netanyahu’s resignation.

Protester Eyal: Netanyahu, I very much doubt that he does not want to reach a ceasefire agreement, because the most important thing for him is to keep his position and his alliance, not to let the detainees be released.

Aylett Balgur, a protester: He must cease fire before these detainees can be released and go home. That’s what we want. We want an immediate ceasefire, and we want him to step down. Thousands of people here no longer believe in the government, which can no longer represent me.

From March 31 to April 3, tens of thousands of Israelis once again gathered outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem to hold protests.

The American Axios website said on the 1st that the new protests may mark a "turning point" in Israeli public opinion.

In the face of the protracted war in Gaza and the delay in the release of the detained persons, Netanyahu dared to make bold moves against the Iranian embassy in Syria. Apart from diverting domestic contradictions, he saw clearly that the United States did not want Iran to become a big country and tried to bind it closely with the United States.

In fact, it was on the 4th that Biden still supported Israel against Iran in the phone call that "knocked" Netanyahu.

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator of the White House National Security Council: The two leaders also discussed Iran’s open threats to Israel and the Israeli people. President Biden made it clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of these threats.

At present, the touchstone to test the attitude of the United States towards Israel is whether to continue to provide Israel with weapons worth $18 billion, including F-15 fighters, which has also attracted the attention of the American press and European allies.

American host: Do you think the United States should stop selling and transferring weapons to Israel?

Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council: I have never seen any other country provide weapons to wars that have caused casualties among children, women, rescuers and journalists. Of course, they (Americans) should not provide weapons. Their fingerprints may be all over the crime scene.

However, on April 1, when the Iranian embassy in Syria was attacked, CNN quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Biden’s government was about to approve the sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel, with a total value expected to exceed $18 billion.

Once this deal is reached, it will become the largest US arms sales to Israel since October 7 last year.

The complexity of the current situation in the Middle East can be said to be unprecedented.

Netanyahu’s government has the consideration of transferring domestic and international pressure by showing strength to Iran, and even wants to drag the United States into the conflict.

In the view of Israeli political scientist Tzipis, the United States actually hopes to attack the Iranian regime by intervening in regional conflicts.

The continuous Palestinian-Israeli war has plunged the Middle East into a "conflict tide", and the contradiction between Iraq and Israel has intensified, leaving both sides in a serious security dilemma.

This also fully shows that the traditional western-led security concept has come to the end of history. Seeking security through military confrontation will only aggravate the confrontation between camps, make the humanitarian crisis drag on for a long time, and the incidents of "black swan" and "grey rhinoceros" will emerge one after another. Only by adhering to common security, comprehensive security, cooperative security and sustainable security can the Middle East crisis be resolved.