Amidst the ongoing violence in Gaza, the Biden administration is striving to reduce the tensions in the region. However, their efforts have been further complicated by recent, outrageous and frankly racist comments made by Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister and member of the Netanyahu government. Smotrich proposed the establishment of a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip as a means to prevent terrorism, referring to the population of Gaza as 'two million Nazis.'
In response to these remarks, a barrage of rockets was launched by Hamas towards Israel, marking yet another attack following previous strikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), resulting in casualties on both sides. Notably, the strikes have also targeted leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, escalating the situation further. While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the killing of a Hezbollah commander, the act bears the hallmarks of a targeted killing. This action, coupled with photographs showing the same Hezbollah commander meeting with prominent figures from Hezbollah and the former head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike four years ago, is seen as an escalation on Hezbollah's side.
