Blazing rooftops and fireworks in Gaza are a Hamas tactic to blind the thermal imaging cameras of Israeli UAVs, manned aircraft and TV-guided munitions in the night.
Evenly spaced fire sources on multiple rooftops obscure IDF surveillance systems, making it much more difficult to identify and engage targets, and the launching of fireworks adds random bright flashes to the overall picture, interfering even more.
There have been publications in the Western press about Russia’s involvement in the attack on Israel
Several publications have appeared in Western publications that Russia may be involved in the Hamas attack on Israel. Such a statement was made by the chairman of the Estonian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission Marko Mihkelson. And the website of the major Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot published a column by retired British Army Colonel Richard Kemp under the headline “The f___es that pushed Hamas to attack are in Moscow”.
Details. Mihkelson said in comments to Estonian National Television (ERR) (Estonian president, foreign minister condemn attacks against Israel | News | ERR) that Russian and Iranian involvement in the attack was indicated by the timing of the attack, and the fact that both Moscow and Tehran have contacts with Hamas. “Hamas leaders have held consultations in Moscow twice in the last 12 months and it is clear that Russia has an interest in both diverting attention from Ukraine and complicating Israel’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia through creating tension in the region,” the ERR MP said.
Kemp, in a column (Hands that pushed Hamas attack forward are in Moscow) on Yediot Ahronot’s website, also writes about Russian involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel. According to the former commander of Operation Fingal in Afghanistan, “u_______g to fight NATO directly, Putin is instead fuelling conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Serbia and Kosovo, in West Africa, and now in Israel.” Kemp bases his conclusions on publicly available information, particularly Moscow’s contacts with Tehran and Hamas.
Neither Kemp nor Michkelson cite facts that would support their reasoning.
Major Western publications are more cautious in their assessments. However, they also draw attention to Moscow’s benefits from the escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Thomas L. Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times, writes. Friedman, a protracted war in the Middle East could divert much of the American military equipment needed by Kiev to Tel Aviv. If Israel is to invade the Gaza Strip and start a prolonged war, Ukraine will have to compete with it for Patriot missiles, 155-millimetre artillery shells and other weapons that Kiev desperately needs.
Context. At the official level, Moscow has adopted a neutral stance, calling on both sides for an immediate ceasefire.
Federal TV channels also covered the events in Israel neutrally on Saturday. By Sunday, however, their presentation began to change. On Sunday, stories on Channel One and Russia 1 began repeating the ideas expressed the previous day by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council. Journalists of the TV channels and their experts held the United States responsible for the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. For example, a story on Channel One recalled that a week ago Biden’s adviser Jake Sullivan “boasted that the United States had brought calm to the Middle East.” In addition, both TV channels admitted that the Western weapons handed over to Ukraine could have ended up with Hamas.
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"It came as a complete surprise that the war started in the morning. The number of rockets they launched in less than 24 hours is over 3,000. From our point of view, it’s beyond imagination. We didn’t know they had that many missiles, and we certainly didn’t expect them to be so effective," he said.
Now Hezbollah is entering the confrontation. Dozens of rockets are launched towards Israel from southern Lebanon. An order has been given to evacuate all population centres.
