~NightSky

By Michael Snyder

An Israeli ground operation in Rafah is a “red line” for Hezbollah and Iran, and so once the IDF goes in the entire region could explode. Of course if Israel intends to destroy Hamas, an operation in Rafah is necessary, because that it where Hamas is hiding. Israeli officials have been telling us over and over again that there will be a ground operation in Rafah no matter what the Biden administration or anyone else thinks, and now we have a timeline. The following is from a Times of Israel article entitled “Report: Israel preparing for Rafah ground operation in mid April or early May”…

Following the failure of the latest round of negotiations in Qatar, Israel is not willing to make any further concessions to Hamas and is gearing up for an invasion of Rafah after Eid al-Fitr — the three-day holiday that follows Ramadan and ends around April 12 — or in early May at the latest, according to Egyptian sources who have been in contact with IDF officials, quoted by the pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar daily.

That is very interesting timing.

If this report is accurate, we are likely to see a ground operation in Rafah shortly after the Great American Eclipse of 2024 on April 8th.

According to that same Times of Israel article, the ground operation in Rafah “would last between four and eight weeks”…

The ground op inside the last bastion of Hamas in the Gaza Strip would last between four and eight weeks, the sources say, and would be accompanied by an evacuation of the civilian population sheltering in Rafah, which amounts to about 1.5 million people, toward the center of the Strip along specific routes and at specific times, announced to civilians in each area of Rafah in advance.

The mass evacuation would be monitored from the ground and the air to ensure that no Hamas fighters or Israeli hostages are hidden among the Gazan civilians, the Egyptian officials say.

Normally, in a military conflict you would never want to tell the enemy what you are going to do or when you are going to do it.

But in this case the Israelis are trying to keep events from spiraling out of control.

Unfortunately, it won’t work.

We are on the verge of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, and it certainly won’t take much to push things over the edge.

On Tuesday, the IDF conducted their deepest strike into Lebanese territory so far…

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday another rare strike conducted deep into Lebanese territory. The strikes targeted “a military compound used by Hezbollah’s aerial unit” in the Baalbek District which is in the northeast of the country.

This marks the deepest Israeli strike inside Lebanon since the war began in the wake of the Oct.7 Hamas terror attack, at more than 110km from Israel’s border.

In response, Hezbollah fired a bunch of rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday…

Hezbollah has fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel, killing one person, in response to deadly Israeli strikes on a Lebanese village.

Lebanese sources said seven people were killed in the Israeli attack overnight on Habbariyeh, making it one of the deadliest in recent violence.

Israel said militants were killed, including one involved in attacks on Israel.

It won’t be too long before this conflict goes to the next level.

But it appears that it won’t happen until after the Great American Eclipse on April 8th.

Meanwhile, there continues to be a lot of talk about a coming Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

This isn’t new, but right now lots of people on social media are buzzing about a military training site in a very remote area of China that is “an exact replica of the road network near Taiwan’s Presidential Palace”…

The Chinese have been gearing up for an invasion of Taiwan for quite some time.

Let’s just hope that they do not decide to pull the trigger here in 2024.

Elsewhere, it appears that Russian intelligence has concluded that “the US, UK and Ukraine were behind the Moscow concert hall attack that killed at least 139 people”…

The director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, said on Tuesday that the US, UK and Ukraine were behind the Moscow concert hall attack that killed at least 139 people on Friday – despite repeated claims of responsibility by Islamic State.

Russian officials persisted in saying Ukraine and the West had a role in last week’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack despite vehement denials of involvement by Kyiv and a claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Since Friday’s terror attack, the Russians have been hammering major cities in Ukraine with hypersonic missiles.

This actually plays into the hands of the Ukrainians, because the more destruction that is rained down on Ukrainian cities the more likely it is going to be that western troops will eventually be sent into Ukraine.

And that is precisely what Ukraine wants.

The Ukrainians will not win this war the way that it is going.

Their only chance of winning is for NATO to intervene.

But Vladimir Putin has already warned that sending NATO troops into Ukraine could lead to nuclear war…

Putin noted that while accusing Russia of plans to attack NATO allies in Europe, Western allies were “selecting targets for striking our territory” and “talking about the possibility of sending a NATO contingent to Ukraine.”

“We remember the fate of those who sent their troop contingents to the territory of our country,” the Russian leader said in an apparent allusion to the failed invasions by Napoleon and Hitler. “Now the consequences for the potential invaders will be far more tragic.”

In a two-hour speech before an audience of lawmakers and top officials, Putin cast Western leaders as reckless and irresponsible and declared that the West should keep in mind that “we also have the weapons that can strike targets on their territory, and what they are now suggesting and scaring the world with, all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilization.”

On top of everything else, it looks like military conflict could soon erupt in the Balkans…

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti alleged that Serbia is planning an invasion and has deployed military units near the border.

Kurti shared footage showing Serbian army movements and accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of making “open threats.”

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia maintains it as part of its territory. The situation has raised tensions, and Kurti has called for increased troop presence from NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) to deter any potential aggression.

I truly believe that global war will be one of the dominant themes of 2024.

And it appears that things will escalate to an entirely different level following the Great American Eclipse on April 8th.

Many dominoes will start tumbling once the IDF launches a ground operation in Rafah, and the whole planet will be extremely shocked by what happens.