Media: Israel Intensifies "Preparation for War" Against Iran and Gaza

Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem, May 3 (Reporter Pang Xinyi, Feng Guorui) According to Israeli media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a security cabinet meeting on the 3rd to discuss the situation in Iran and the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Israel is intensifying its "preparedness" on these two fronts.

The Israel Times reported early on the 3rd that an office of a security cabinet member disclosed the meeting news to the media. The report mentioned that U.S. President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the latest negotiation plan regarding Iran on the 1st and confirmed that he had received military briefings on new plans for possible military action against Iran.

Israeli Channel 12 reported on the 2nd that the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Aviv Kochavi, recently spoke on the phone with U.S. Central Command Commander Kenneth McKenzie to coordinate "various possible scenarios." The report stated that any attack on Iran, regardless of its scale, would provoke retaliation against Israel. The Israeli military has recently received a large amount of military equipment and is prepared for the resumption of hostilities.

Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that the security cabinet meeting scheduled for the 3rd is also expected to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel believes that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has not complied with the disarmament agreement and is communicating with the mediators of the Gaza ceasefire on this issue. A ground military operation by the Israeli military in Gaza "is not impossible."

According to the Israel Times, citing two informed diplomats from Arab countries, Hamas responded on the 2nd to the U.S.-led so-called "peace committee" proposal for a phased surrender of all weapons, essentially rejecting it and demanding clearer guarantees from all parties for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, advocating for the disarmament of Hamas to be included in the framework for achieving Palestinian statehood, and also demanding that Israel stop violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Multiple statements issued by the Israeli military on the 2nd indicated that the military conducted airstrikes against targets of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and armed personnel in the Gaza Strip on that day.