People inspect damage from an Israeli airstrike near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon, October 22, 2024 (Yara Nardi/Reuters)

EA on Pat Kenny Show and BBC: From Israel’s Wars to Trump’s Threats

I joined India’s WION on Tuesday to analyze the latest developments in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the state of the tensions between Israel and Iran.

Watch from 3:30:

I begin by critiquing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s latest mission for a “ceasefire”. Asked about its prospects, I respond:

You have to ask [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu.

Antony Blinken has to give the appearance of doing something. He needs to do this, not only because of the ongoing mass killing in Gaza but also because of the expansion of the war into Lebanon and the possibility — although I think it is a remote possibility — of direct Israel-Iran confrontation.

It is Netanyahu who could make a decision to pull back on the “open-ended” wars. But, as long as Hamas holds hostages in Gaza, he has to keep the wars going.