Gallant Reveals War Plan: Any Negotiations on the Lebanese Front Will Occur Under Fire / Spiritual Summit: Priority for a Ceasefire, While Washington Insists on Presidential Elections First

 October 17, 2024

The political editor wrote

The spiritual summit held in Bkerké, attended by the heads of religious sects in Lebanon, reinforced a national consensus that the priority is to halt the fighting before discussing the implementation of Resolution 1701 or electing a president. This came after the Ain al-Tineh appeal, issued from a meeting between Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, which was supported by Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem and Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil. However, the American call for the immediate election of a president amidst the aggression found no local resonance, as the Maarab meeting turned into a political shock that exposed the isolation of those seeking to impose U.S.-Israeli conditions on the Resistance – they remained alone.

On a parallel track, the Occupying Entity’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed the war strategy, stating that there will be no negotiations after a ceasefire, as suggested by the Ain al-Tineh appeal, which gained Arab and international support, with only the U.S. remaining outside. Despite claiming to support a ceasefire, Gallant declared that negotiations with Lebanon will occur under fire, making the battlefield the decisive voice.

On the ground, the entity’s leaders were on the verge of exchanging congratulations for the so-called achievement of their forces’ breakthrough at the Raamiya-Ayta al-Shaab-al-Qouzah front. Yet, their celebrations were interrupted by grim news of a massacre befalling their soldiers at the triangle of advance, resulting in around 100 casualties among soldiers and officers. A complete company had fallen into a sophisticated, multi-layered ambush set by the Resistance, which targeted both infantry and vehicles. The Occupying Entity’s helicopters were busy for hours evacuating the dead and wounded from the battlefield, with media outlets in the entity reporting that ten helicopters were used to transport the casualties. Reports varied, with some stating ten dead and over seventy wounded, while others claimed that a number of injured soldiers remained on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Resistance’s rockets rained down on the depths of the entity, especially targeting settlements in northern occupied Palestine, artillery emplacements, and military bases. Hebrew social media was abuzz, circulating a war media recording titled, “We Will Turn Haifa into Kiryat Shmona”.