Israeli Mayors Say Netanyahu ‘Failed Us’

Sunday’s massive attack in which 350 Hezbollah missiles and rockets pounded Israeli cities, towns, settlements and military bases created much anger among the Israeli public who are now blaming the extrmist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being responsible for what is happening.

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said, Sunday, the city is suffering from a very difficult economic situation after shops were closed due to Hezbollah missiles.

Yahav added to the Hebrew channel, i24 News, he has gone to the Knesset  to explain to its members of the exceedingly difficult situation in the city.

He explained “the Finance Committee in the Knesset and the Israeli state do not understand or know the terrible and dangerous events taking place in Haifa, as the city has been continually targeted on a daily basis, the economy is collapsing and the city is economically stagnant after the shops shutdown.”

Hezbollah is intensifying its targeting of the Israeli city, which includes important military and economic facilities, in addition to targeting the Krayot settlements near Haifa Bay, which resulted in much material losses, fires and human injuries.

Also, In central Israel, Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg said psychologists were deployed in the city after a rocket was fired from Lebanon. Hebrew radio station FM 103 quoting Greenberg as saying: “Social workers are deployed at the site of the Lebanese missile’s fall.”

Greenberg explained that whilst “the injuries are moderate and light, these specialists are providing the necessary answers to ease the burden on the settlers, as a result of the successive Lebanese missiles falling on their heads.”

On Sunday, the escalation was at its highest with over 500 sirens going off all over the north and center Israel where Tel Aviv itself was hit 17 times with missiles.

Greenberg’s statements come as Channel 12 reported two Israelis were injured, one of them moderately, as a result of a missile fired from Lebanon falling on a building in the settlement of Petah Tikva, whilst air traffic at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, central Israel, was halted.

The official Israeli Broadcaster, Kan,  published a video clip showing the extensive destruction of a building in Petah Tikva, after it was directly hit by a missile, which led to a fire.

Security Failure

In the same context, Ronen Marley, the mayor of Nahariya in northern Israel, said, Sunday, Tel Aviv had failed to provide security for its citizens, and had wasted huge sums of money from its budget to no avail.

The same radio station quoted Marley as saying “the state of Israel has failed to provide security for its residents, as it previously wasted huge budgets to evacuate residents of the south (adjacent to the Gaza Strip).” He described Israel’s decision to evacuate the population as “stupid,” explaining that government had recorded a “disastrous failure” in this regard.

Over four million people spend their time down the underground shelters, double the number that took to hiding on a regular basis in the last months.

CrossFireArabia

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.

Related Posts

Oman Mediates US-Houthi Ceasefire

Oman on Tuesday announced that its mediatory efforts led to a ceasefire between the US and Houthis in Yemen, after President Donald Trump said the group will not be carrying out attacks on commercial ships.

“Following recent discussions and contacts conducted by the Sultanate of Oman with the United States and the relevant authorities in Sana’a, in the Republic of Yemen, with the aim of de-escalation, efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides,” Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a statement on X.

“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” he added.

Expressing appreciation for both parties’ cooperation, Albusaidi said: “The Sultanate of Oman expresses its gratitude to both parties for their constructive approach that led to this welcome outcome, and hopes that it will lead to further progress on many regional issues towards achieving justice, peace, and prosperity for all.”

Houthis started attacking shipping lanes in the Red and Arabian seas after Israel’s war in Gaza, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In March, Trump launched a military operation against the Yemeni group.

Earlier, during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the White House, Trump said Houthis informed them they will not be carrying out additional attacks on commercial ships, and the US will reciprocate by halting attacks on Yemen, according to Anadolu.

Continue reading
Famine: Hundreds of Thousands Eat Every 2-3 Days in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians eat only one meal every two or three days amid a crippling Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.

“More than 66,000 children in Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition,” UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna told Al-Ghad TV in an interview.

Since March 2, Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid, deepening an already humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

Figures released by Gaza’s government media office showed that at least 57 Palestinians have died of starvation since October 2023.

Nearly 2.4 million people in Gaza live completely dependent on humanitarian aid, according to World Bank data.

“UNRWA will not be part of the new Israeli plan” for aid distribution in Gaza, as the plan “doesn’t adhere to UN standards at all,” Abu Hasna said.

On Sunday night, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved a plan to distribute aid in the blockaded enclave through private security contractors.

The plan, however, was rejected by the UN and dozens of international aid groups, saying it runs against humanitarian principles, is logistically unworkable, and could put Palestinian civilians and staffers in harm’s way.

The UN Humanitarian Country Team in Gaza said on Sunday night that it “can only support plans that respect the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, independence, and impartiality,” according to Anadolu.

More than 52,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Continue reading

You Missed

Oman Mediates US-Houthi Ceasefire

Oman Mediates US-Houthi Ceasefire

This is Ben Gvir

This is Ben Gvir

Dancing Over Their Graves

Dancing Over Their Graves

Famine: Hundreds of Thousands Eat Every 2-3 Days in Gaza

Famine: Hundreds of Thousands Eat Every 2-3 Days in Gaza

Bomb Food Warehouses, Starve Them Says Extremist Israeli Minister

Bomb Food Warehouses, Starve Them Says Extremist Israeli Minister

France Condemns Re-occupation of Gaza

France Condemns Re-occupation of Gaza