Israel Waits For The US to Enter The War

Everyone one is waiting for US president Donald Trump to make up his mind to enter the war with Iran on the side of the Israelis.

Analysts suggest clearly that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing a great pressuring role to force the USA to enter the war, and especially to destroy its nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missiles. But for Trump, this is easier said than done for the president, seen as one of the most pro-Israelis in America’s modern history is in still in deep doubt and contemplation.

Aside from the fact that Trump is generally know for shying away from wars because it disrupts his economic vision of “making America great again”, he is trying to distance America from global conflicts.

And today, he is backed by global pollsters which are suggesting that 60 percent of Americans oppose sending US troops to take part in a war to fight the Iranian government. For Americans, the Iraqi experience of removing Saddam Hussein from power and seeking to rule the country was a devastating experience that dominated most of the first decade of the millennium.

Trump and his team at the White House are watching the war unfold between Iran and Israel very carefully but it doesn’t mean he will enter the war despite the conflicting vibes coming from Washington. Trump wants to keep the diplomatic door open on Iran. Yet he has clear objectives. He wants Iran to unconditionally “surrender” its nuclear weapons come what may. For this is a principled stand, with him arguing that Iran must not be allowed enrichment and prohibited from obtaining nuclear weapons.

But this is clearly not acceptable to the Iranians who say enrichment is a sovereign decision which they will not break away from regardless of what Trump do by way of arms-twisting them to steer away from their nuclear programs long deemed for useful uses which Trump refuses to believe in.

Deadlock may be! But Trump has also said he wouldn’t commit the American army to fighting Iran simply because Israel is doing the trick of fighting Iran under the pretext of wanting to destroy its nuclear weapons and different missiles including its ballistic missiles. Israeli warplanes, in a disconcerting fashion have dominated the Iran skyline since it’s started its war on Iran.

But this is also easier said than done for Israel – especially its central areas including Tel Aviv – has also been getting a hammering in the first six days of the war that started on 13 June 2025 with destruction of infrastructure and debris of buildings much the same witnessed in Gaza created by the Israeli war machine since 7th October 2023.

Rather than just Israel Trump may have other considerations. It is not that simple to commit Washington to what tantamount to a global war where other global nuclear powers are likely to take part in. Countries like Russia, China, Pakistan and even North Korea are not likely standby and let American have a free-hand in possibly crushing Iran. For that would upset the global political relations and today these powers are watching the coming moves very carefully.

That’s is why Trump is taking a long time to make a decision on entering the war on Iran to the dismay of Netanyahu and his extremist government who feel that if they are to win the war, America must help but Washington has other global considerations including the sneaking suspicion of not allowing Israel to become top dog in the Middle East whilst at the same time seeking to clip its wings for their special interests.

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israeli Capitan Killed, 7 Soldiers Injured in Lebanon

CrossFireArabia
June 2, 2026

The Israeli army acknowledged, Monday, the death of a captain and medical doctor in the Givati Brigade and the wounding of seven other soldiers, including four officers and a battalion commander, in an attack carried out by Hezbollah using explosive-laden drones.

In a statement, the army said the deceased was a medic from the Shaked Battalion (424) of the Givati Brigade and was killed during fighting in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Army Radio reported that Hezbollah launched six explosive-laden drones around noon, Monday, toward a group of soldiers and a Nimer armored vehicle belonging to the Givati Brigade, which was stationed on the outskirts of the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya, near the Shaqif site.

The radio added that among those seriously wounded were the operations officer of the Shaked Battalion and a platoon commander in the same battalion, while the battalion commander, a lieutenant colonel, was also wounded.

This attack comes a day after the Israeli army radio also announced the death of a soldier from the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit and the wounding of four other soldiers in an explosion caused by an explosive-laden drone that targeted them, Saturday, evening in the Zawtar al-Sharqiya area of southern Lebanon.

The southern Lebanese front is witnessing a continuous escalation, amid ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli occupation forces according to Qudspress.

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Football and Borrowed Boots!

CrossFireArabia
May 31, 2026

Matches organised by a former professional player are providing a brief respite from the harsh reality of life for the thousands living in overcrowded tents, schools or damaged buildings in the shattered Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza.

In the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, where tents stretch across the sand and snaking queues form for water and food, Asaad Al-Azzabi prepares for a match a world away from what he once knew.

Before the war, Mr. Al-Azzabi played for Al-Tajammu Club in Rafah, where he and his teammates had access to pitches, training halls, coaches and equipment.

A displaced football player from Rafah prepares his cleats in a sand camp in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, Gaza. — UN News Asaad Al-Azzabi’s torn boots.

Borrowed boots

Now, he’s lucky if he can find boots to play in. “Sometimes I borrow a pair from a friend or patch them up with tape,” he says.

His home is now a tent in Al-Rahma Camp, a shelter for people displaced from Rafah, where access to clean water and sanitation services is scarce. He lives alone, after his wife left for Jordan with their son, who has cancer, to seek treatment.

According to UN data, around 1.7 million people are living in around 1,600 displacement sites across the Gaza Strip, most of them in temporary or informal locations. Most residents rely on water brought in by truck and are forced to cope with restrictions on the entry of equipment, fuel and repair materials.

Amid the struggle to meet basic needs, Mr. Al-Azzabi is preparing for the match with nearby Sheikh Al-Eid Camp. He explains the game plan to his players by drawing on the sand, before the team sets off on foot toward a pitch located among the tents of displaced people.

The match appears to be more than a sporting activity – it is a respite from the daily hardships of life in the camps.

Children and young men gather around the sandy pitch, applauding players, some of whom arrived after spending hours standing in queues for food, water or battery charging.

A group of Palestinian refugees, including Asaad Al-Azzabi, gathers to watch a soccer match at a makeshift field in the Al-Mawasi displacement camp, west of Khan Younis, Gaza. — UN News Displaced people from Rafah watching the match between Al-Rahma Camp and Sheikh Al-Eid Camp.

Something out of nothing

Referee Alaa Abu Taha, a referee with the Palestinian Football Association and a displaced resident of Rafah, says football has become the “only outlet” for many people in Gaza.

“With the most limited resources, we try to play. Now there is no sports infrastructure. The pitch we are standing on now was originally prepared for basketball and volleyball, but our people create everything out of nothing,” he says.

Gaza’s sports sector has suffered widespread destruction since the outbreak of the war. According to the Palestinian Football Association, hundreds of athletes have been killed, including many footballers, while hundreds of sports facilities have been damaged or destroyed, including pitches, club headquarters and training halls.

In Al-Mawasi these losses have not prevented players from organising a championship between displacement camps.

The big match

The match kicks off in front of a small crowd of displaced spectators, with Mr. Al-Azzabi taking part in boots held together by plastic tape. At the end of the match, Al-Rahma Camp defeats Sheikh Al-Eid Camp 2–1.

A Palestinian football player lifts a soccer trophy in a refugee camp in Gaza, surrounded by celebrating teammates and children. — UN News Asaad Al-Azzabi celebrating with the crowd of young men and children.

After the final whistle, young men from the camp lift him and his teammates onto their shoulders, while children and young people celebrate among the tents. For a few brief moments, the sound of displacement recedes from the scene, and football emerges as a rare space for joy.

“Under these difficult circumstances, to be able to come out and play a match like this is a very good thing,” says Mr. Al-Azzabi. “Congratulations to our camp. I dedicate this championship to my wife and son in Jordan, and I wish my son a speedy recovery.”

For him, the game is more than a sporting victory. It is a message to his distant family and an attempt to preserve what remains of his life as a former player, chasing the ball as if it were the last thing connecting him to who he was before the war. UN News