War spreads around Israel as tensions rise in South China Sea and Ukraine smolders

(Originally published Oct. 23 in “What in the World“) Israel stepped up its strikes on Gaza, southern Lebanon and Syria, and launched an airstrike in the West Bank ahead of its planned invasion of Gaza to uproot Hamas.

The airstrike, which hit a mosque inside a refugee camp, marked an escalation of hostilities with militants in Israel’s other neighbors. Israel has begun evacuating villages on its northern border with Lebanon in response.

The U.S bolstered its support for Israel with the deployment of Patriot anti-missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery. They will augment the two aircraft carrier strike forces—the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower—already in the eastern Mediterranean. The deployment of such advanced systems suggests that Washington fears Israel could face attacks more serious than the small missiles for which Israel’s Iron Dome defense system is designed. Iran has threatened to attack if it invades Gaza.

The war in Ukraine grinds on, meanwhile. Russian missiles destroyed a postal depot outside of Kharkiv, near the Russian border, killing six.

Tensions are also rising in the South China Sea, specifically at Second Thomas Shoal, where China’s coast guard has besieged a Philippine garrison Manila created by running an old ship aground there in 1999. After harassing resupply ships with a laser back in May, a Chinese vessel finally collided with one this week.