THE HAGUE - Prime Minister Dick Schoof expressed support for Israel amid rising tensions with Iran after the assassination of two leaders of the terrorist movements Hamas and Hezbollah. Experts expect this will soon escalate into another war.
“I sent a message to President Isaac Herzog of Israel letting him and the Israeli people know that we are committed to the security of the State of Israel in the face of a now tangible threat from Iran and its proxies,” Schoof said on X.
He added that the Netherlands “continues to advocate for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. As well as for the release of hostages, the delivery of much more humanitarian aid, and the prospect of a lasting solution for peace and security in this region.”
Schoof also said that the Dutch government was “closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East” and that he met with Ministers Caspar Veldkamp of Foreign Affairs, David van Weel of Justice and Security, and Ruben Brekelmans of Defense to discuss the developments and their possible impact on the Netherlands. The Netherlands escalated its travel advice for Israel to red. “I call on all Dutch nationals to follow the current travel advice for the region,” Schoof said.
Israel and Iran have been far from friends for decades, and tension between the two countries has escalated since the Gaza war, according to Nieuwsuur. In April, Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital in Damascus, and Iran responded with its first direct attack on Israel. Israeli air defenses managed to stop most of the rockets and drones and responded with a counterattack.
Iran expressed support for Hamas after the terrorist movement’s attacks on Israel on October 7 last year, which prompted Israel’s months-long incessant bombing of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is part of what Iran calls the “axis of resistance” - several violent groups in the Middle East that include Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Following the assassination of two leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, experts believe the question is not if but when Iran will attack Israel and how large the attack will be. The Hamas leader’s assassination happened in Tehran, Iran’s capital city.
“An Iranian response is inevitable,” Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the renowned think tank Crisis Group, told Nieuwsuur. “I think we have never been so close to the brink of a catastrophic war in the region.”
If Iran carries out a retaliatory attack, an Israeli counter-reaction is all but inevitable, added Patrick Bolder, a defense specialist at The Hague Center for Strategic Studies.
