Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 230 Sacrifice
Just a few hours later, the United Nations issued a new statement, which included—

The statement strongly condemned the excessive actions of the Arab allied forces, issued a warning to the commander-in-chief of the Arab allied forces, Amir bin Mohammed, demanding that he abide by international humanitarian law and immediately cease the execution of prisoners of war.

After several rounds of consultations by the United Nations, both sides eventually compromised and reached a provisional agreement: Arab allied forces must be treated as prisoners of war when fighting on Zion's soil; however, this provisional agreement does not apply to the "occupied Arab territories" recognized by the United Nations (Sinai Peninsula, West Bank of the Hashim River, Jerusalem, etc.).

In addition, the United Nations called on both sides to immediately cease fire and resolve the dispute through diplomatic means.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Tel Aviv, headquarters.

General Yeshavishin stared at the report on the table and slowly said, "Amir's move was indeed brilliant, catching us off guard by taking advantage of our psychological blind spot."

Chief of Staff Lazars looked somber. "We overestimated the loyalty of the new recruits. In terms of equipment, our tanks still have the advantage, but the soldiers' psychological defenses are much weaker than their armor."

"This is exactly the effect our opponents wanted."

Yashavishin began, “But their victory is temporary. We are exaggerating the massacre in the media of the United States and the United Kingdom, and the pressure of international public opinion will force the Arabs to back down.”

That being said, Yeshavishin did not seem optimistic: "The premise is that we can survive the crisis for the next two or three months. Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Beersheba, Eilat—each city is the lifeline of the country, but each city could also become a breakthrough point."

"If I were Amir, I would concentrate my forces to capture one of these locations and completely breach our defenses."

Of these five cities, Tel Aviv and Haifa need no introduction. The former is Zion's current temporary capital and economic and cultural center, while the latter is a center for heavy industry and petrochemicals.

As for Beersheba, although the city is rarely mentioned, it is actually the capital of Zion in the Negev Desert and the administrative and military center of southern Zion.

Because of its small land area, Zion has been actively expanding outwards and has always wanted to turn the southern desert into an oasis where people can live. Beersheba is the core area of ​​all the branches of Zion in the south.

Eilat, the last of the three, is Zion's only port on the Red Sea, and plays a vital role in Zion's trade with parts of Africa and Asia.

Each of the five cities is irreplaceable, which is why Zion has always been resistant to defensive warfare.

Even if the situation is passive, we must launch a counterattack and push the battlefield onto enemy territory.

Just then, the door to the command post was suddenly pushed open.

“Yesha is right.”

Hilbert strode in, and the staff rose to salute. The Prime Minister waved for everyone to continue their work and walked straight toward Yessavichen and Lazars.

“You have all seen the UN statement,”

Hilbert's gaze sharpened. "Amir is a shrewd soldier. He's deliberately creating panic, trying to throw our troops stationed in West Hashim and Jerusalem into disarray. It's an extremely risky, overt scheme."

Lazars frowned: "But his methods are a bit too extreme..."

Haven't we encountered enough extreme opponents?

Hilbert declared, “I have decided to move the Prime Minister’s Office, the Supreme Council, and the Supreme Court to Jerusalem. I will personally oversee the Holy City and tell all the soldiers and people of Zion—Jerusalem is an inseparable part of Zion! If Amir wants to kill me, let him come!”

Chief of the General Staff Lazars hesitated for a moment, then advised, "You should reconsider carefully; after all, this is far too dangerous."

“Danger?” A resolute glint flashed in Hilbert’s eyes. “Aren’t the soldiers on the front lines in danger? If even I am afraid, the morale of the entire army will collapse under Amir’s scheme! But if we do the opposite, we can ignite the Zionites’ belief in saving their nation!”

By voluntarily putting himself in danger, the Prime Minister himself is the most powerful rebuttal to the so-called "temporary agreement."

Lazarus suddenly felt a headache coming on: "But what if... I mean, what if something happens to you, who will lead the country?"

He turned to Yessavichen and handed him a document: "Keep this list safe. If anything happens to me, you will take over as prime minister."

When Yeshavishen opened the booklet, the list was filled with members of parliament and generals who had previously participated in the impeachment, including Likud leader Elijah Tamar and Speaker Lucas Halmer, among others.

Yeshavishen closed the booklet without saying anything more.

After Hilbert left, everyone present turned their attention to him.

Yesavishin remained silent for a moment.

Then, he turned to the map and issued new orders: "Draw the remnants of the Third Army and reorganize them into the Jerusalem Garrison Division. The Second Army shall move south to concentrate on defending the outskirts of the Holy City. In addition, the northern front shall be withdrawn, and the 251st Brigade shall be moved south to ensure the security of the port of Eilat."

"Yes."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Sinai Peninsula at dusk is tinged with a murky dark red by gunpowder smoke and dust.

Major Ehud, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 890th Airborne Division in Zion, sat on the hood of a truck, the residual heat of the metal seeping through his combat uniform, bringing a false sense of warmth.

He twisted his ankle when he landed, and it's swollen and painful now.

A few hours earlier, his airborne infantry battalion landed with the precision of a dagger in the coordinate area provided by Mossad.

It must be admitted that Mossad is absolutely adept at obtaining intelligence such as enemy logistics supply lines.

The fighting was far more intense than anticipated. The Egyptian defenders displayed exceptionally strong resistance, using makeshift sand fortifications and anti-tank firing positions to inflict considerable losses on the airborne battalion.

This further convinced Major Ehud that they had caught a big fish, and that this supply line might be far more important than the intelligence indicated.

"Major!" A soldier with a face covered in soot ran up, interrupting his thoughts, carrying a bucket in his hand: "We've checked, those tanker trucks aren't filled with oil, they're filled with water!"

Major Ehud frowned upon hearing this.

water?
He reached into the bucket and stirred it, then held it under his nose to smell it; it really was water.

For troops on the front lines, water is certainly an extremely scarce resource, but in terms of preciousness, it is probably not even as valuable as gasoline.

After all, gasoline consumption is much higher. Without gasoline, even the most powerful tank will become a pile of immobile scrap metal within a few hours.

What the enemy was desperately protecting was just a batch of fresh water?
Just then, another soldier rushed over to report: "Report! The other vehicles have also been checked. They were not transporting the medicines or high-priority military equipment we expected. They were mainly canned food, clothing, and some engineering parts."

Major Ehud stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette butt hard on the truck's scorching hood, making a soft "hiss" sound.

His voice was cold and hard: "Bring someone over and ask."

Soon, two soldiers dragged over a prisoner named Masr whose hands were tied behind his back. The prisoner was young, his uniform was tattered, and his face and body were covered with dried and fresh blood.

Without a word, Major Ehud grabbed the man's wet, sand-covered hair and roughly shoved his head into the bucket of water in front of him.

"Mmm... gurgle..."

The prisoner struggled violently, but was held down firmly by the soldiers behind him.

A dozen seconds later, Major Ehud lifted him up abruptly.

The prisoners, like fish out of water, opened their mouths wide, coughed and gasped violently, water and snot streaming down their faces.

"Why is the tanker truck carrying water instead of oil?" Major Ehud asked.

The prisoner, panting heavily, swore.

But what awaited him was a heavy punch. The prisoner let out a muffled groan, his body curled up in pain, and he knelt on the ground, retching.

Major Ehud pressed on, "Where are your actual transport routes? How are your gasoline and gasoline being transported to the front lines?"

"I don't know..." the prisoner replied as before.

The next few interrogations yielded the same answer, and Major Ehud's last shred of restraint vanished.

He abruptly drew his sidearm from his waist, chambered a bullet with a "click," and pressed the cold muzzle against the prisoner's chin, forcing him to raise his head and face him.

“You only have one last chance,” Major Ehud said coldly. “I want to hear the answer I want.”

Water droplets, blood, and sand mingled on the prisoner's face, rolling down his young but scarred cheeks. Facing the warning of death, he gave a contemptuous smile: "Fuck you."

"boom!"

The prisoner's body jolted violently, then he collapsed limply to the ground.

His last gaze remained stubbornly fixed on the direction where the setting sun disappeared, until dusk fell.

Major Ehud holstered his gun, staring expressionlessly at the corpse on the ground. He took out his radio, connected to the command channel, and his voice regained its usual calm and decisiveness: "Eagle's Nest, Eagle's Nest, this is Ranger One. Supply nodes cleared, mission complete. Requesting to proceed with the next phase of operations as planned."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

West bank of the canal, Masr frontline command post.

The quartermaster, holding a document, strode up to General Salmon. "General," he said, "the gasoline supplies from Jeddah have been successfully delivered to the 2nd Armored Division's logistics hub."

General Salmon stood before the battle map, where a clear red dotted line stretched from Jeddah on the western shore of the Red Sea, southward around the Gulf of Aden, then carefully circumvented the conflict zone, crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into the main Red Sea, and finally reached the vicinity of the Gulf of Suez in the north.

In fact, even before the war began, Masr was already close to being unable to afford the expenses of the war.

All their fuel and ammunition supplies came from another major gasoline-producing country and a United States ally—Shuangzhi.

The previous transportation routes were just a smokescreen they set up.

Just then, news came that the rear supply lines had been attacked, and the quartermaster breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems our diversionary tactic worked."

General Salmon said, "Order the 155th and 177th Divisions in the rear to dispatch mechanized units to mop up small groups of enemy troops in the rear. The remaining troops should remain stationed in place to prevent enemy counterattacks."

He looked out the window at the deepening night, the static from the radio crackling in the silence like an ominous premonition.

The situation on the front lines was far more dire than at the rear. Under the relentless attacks and pinning down of Masr's soldiers, the daily casualty reports gradually turned into accumulating numbers on paper. Those once vibrant names were now merely replaced unit numbers and coordinates on the battle map.

General Salmon knew that war always required someone to do the thankless tasks.

Some roads are destined to be paved with thorns, and some orders are destined to be filled with sacrifice.

But there are some things that we know are impossible, yet we still insist on doing them.

This is not foolishness, but rather a gamble on the possibility that a noble person would be willing to sacrifice for it.

(End of this chapter)