This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog. 

Now we are going to find out who was bluffing and who was not bluffing.  Israeli troops have gone into Gaza, and we are being told that this is a war that could last for months.  Of course, it could easily last a lot longer than that.  If the stated goal is to eliminate Hamas, that certainly won’t be easy.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling this a second war of independence, and he just told the world that “Never Again is now”…

Netanyahu said troops that he has met in the field are determined to make Hamas pay for its actions on October 7.

“They are determined to eradicate this evil from the world, for our existence and, I add — for all of humanity.”

Netanyahu continued: “We always said, ‘Never Again’. Never Again’ is now.”

So Israel was clearly not bluffing.

Now we shall see what Hezbollah does.

Hezbollah officials have warned multiple times that they will enter the war if Israel goes into Gaza.

Was Hezbollah just bluffing?

So far, a limited number of rockets have been fired back and forth along Israel’s northern border since Netanyahu made his speech…

Several rocket volleys were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Sunday, and the Israel Defense Forces said it hit terror cells and sites belonging to the Hezbollah terror group, as skirmishes continued on the northern frontier and the army continues its war with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip in the south.

According to the IDF, rockets were launched from Lebanon at the upper and western Galilee several times throughout the day, setting off sirens in towns including Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Shlomi, Tuba-Zangariyye, Rosh Pina, Ayelet Hashahar, and Hatzor Haglilit.

If this is all that Hezbollah does, the Israelis will greatly celebrate.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe that Hezbollah was just bluffing, and I think soon we will see some major moves from them.

I also don’t think that Iran was bluffing.

On Sunday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi publicly stated that the Israelis have “crossed the red lines” that Iran had established…

Israel has “crossed the red lines” in Gaza, which “may force everyone to take action,” Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Sunday, while US national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned of an “elevated risk” of a spillover conflict in the Middle East.

Okay, so your “red lines” have been crossed.

What are you going to do about it?

So far, the answer is not much.

But the Iranians are conducting “massive war games” right now…

IRAN has staged massive war games with 200 helicopters and missile launchers as tensions rage over Israel.

Tanks, aircraft and troops were deployed by the Islamic Republic for the exercise dubbed “Authority 1402”.

During these war games, the Iranians have been firing new versions of their domestically-made missiles…

Tehran’s military launched the drills – including using upgraded versions of their domestically-made missiles, Dawn and Diamond.

They also tested new bombs as well as attack helicopters.

The choppers launched missiles in the dark and destroyed the pretend enemy using night vision systems.

Of course, these war games are not going to intimidate anyone.

If the Iranians intend to stop what is going on, they are going to have to take action.

For now, the Iranians are limiting themselves to conducting strikes on U.S. bases in the region through their proxies…

Attacks on US military outposts in Iraq and Syria have continued over the weekend. Al-Mayadeen news and other regional outlets have reported that there have been several attacks by Iran-backed militias on Saturday and Sunday. Russian media has also reported on the fresh attacks, calling recent Pentagon airstrikes on Syria an “unsuccessful bid to deter the militias.”

A statement by a coalition of Shia paramilitary groups said, “The Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted the American occupation base in Al-Tanf, Syria, with two drones, which directly hit their targets.” They carried out the attack from just across the Iraq border into Syria.

Reports say separately that the al-Shaddadi base in eastern Syria was also hit with two drones, and al-Omar base and oil field was struck. The latter was reportedly attacked a mere hours after the US airstrikes.

Al-Mayadeen had says ago cited a statement from the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades which said the group is willing to fight “a war of attrition against the enemy that will extend for years.”

The recent U.S. airstrikes were supposed to put an end to this.

Obviously, that did not work.

So what is Joe Biden’s next move?

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making all sorts of noise.

At a pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday, he declared that Israel is “a war criminal”…

Türkiye will introduce Israel to the world as a war criminal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Speaking at “Great Palestine Meeting,” a pro-Palestine rally in Istanbul, Erdogan said: “Israel, we will also declare you as a war criminal to the world, we are preparing for it, and we will introduce Israel to the world as a war criminal.”

Erdogan stressed that the Western world mobilized its politicians, and media to legitimize the massacre of the innocent people in Gaza, adding: “Israel is committing war crimes.”

And Erdogan also threatened Israel with potential military action…

In comments that have prompted Israeli outcry, and led the country to withdraw its diplomatic presence, president Erdogan suggested assaults on Gaza constituted a “massacre”.

In the same speech, he reportedly said that Turkey can “come at any night unexpectedly” to ecstatic reception from hundreds of thousands of attendees.

The footage, which is currently circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, purportedly showed the pro-Palestine crowd responding with the chant: “Turkish military to Gaza.”

Would Turkey actually do such a thing?

Erdogan is completely nuts, but I can’t imagine that he would want to risk a direct conflict with Israel.

If Turkey does attack Israel, would the U.S. strike Turkey?

The U.S. and Turkey are both members of NATO, and so that would create quite an awkward situation.

My friends, we have truly entered unprecedented territory.

A major war has erupted in the Middle East, and now we shall watch to see what all of the interested parties do next…

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

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