Since Israel launched its offensive against Hamas in October, the international community has feared that the conflict would spread across Israel's northern border into Lebanon, but with the death of what was considered the Islamist group's number two, Saleh al -Arouri, in an Israeli attack. the risk has increased. Egypt took sides and withdrew its role as a mediator of the conflict, while Israel claimed to be “ready” for any scenario that arises in the hostilities.
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Egypt froze its role as a mediator with the Palestinian factions, in a task that aimed to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The decision was made by the Government of the African country after the death of the number two in the Hamas political office, Saleh Al Arouri, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, in an Israeli bombing.
“Egypt officially informed Israel that it has frozen its role as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinian factions to conclude an agreement that will lead to the end of the war,” the sources informed the EFE news agency on condition of anonymity.
Immediately after learning of this position from Egypt, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements also announced to Cairo that they were withdrawing from negotiations with Israel in search of a cessation of hostilities.
“Egypt's role is indispensable and, in the absence of its mediation, the severity of the crisis may increase and worsen beyond the estimates of all parties,” said a senior Egyptian source close to the Government, in an interview with the Egyptian network, Al Qahera News; however, this has not been formally confirmed by Egypt as of yet.
Will Hezbollah increase its involvement in the conflict?
The shock waves caused by the Israeli strike that killed deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Hezbollah stronghold on the outskirts of Beirut continue to impact Lebanon and the region.
Although the drone offensive did not target the Lebanese Shiite group, it puts the group in a difficult position.
And since the beginning of Israel's retaliation to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, the Israeli Army and Hezbollah have exchanged low-intensity attacks on Lebanon's southern border, but with the selective attack on Tuesday, October 2 January local media claim that the tactical rules of engagement have been “destroyed.”
“The rules of engagement have been completely destroyed by Israel, which has crossed the red lines. Hezbollah is in a very delicate position where, on the one hand, it cannot fail to respond. At the same time, if it responds too forcefully , risks an open war with Israel,” said Anthony Samrani, editor-in-chief of L'Orient-Le Jour, a Lebanese newspaper.
The above translates into a breach of the tactical rules of confrontation that both parties implicitly respected during the conflict in Gaza for more than two months.
Killing of Saleh al-Arouri is Israel's harshest blow against Hamas since October
Tensions that were also evident after the head of the Lebanese group, Hassan Nasrallah, announced in a televised speech the commemoration of the third anniversary of the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, who died in a US attack.
In the speech, Nasrallah said that the death of Al-Arouri, Hamas' second-in-command, “cannot go unanswered” and according to Lebanese media reports, Al-Arouri had an important meeting with Nasrallah scheduled for Wednesday.
“If the enemy thinks about waging war against Lebanon, we will fight without rules, without limits and without restrictions,” said Nasrallah, avoiding a declaration of war on Israel in the two-hour speech, although he assured that Hezbollah “is not afraid of war”.
For its part, for the Islamist group Hamas, the elimination of Al-Arouri means the loss of an experienced fighter, its main interlocutor with Tehran and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the co-founder of the military wing.
He was also one of the Palestinian leaders closest to Iran, and the one who “did the most to forge closer ties with Hezbollah,” said Lebanese journalist Samrani. “He was one of the theorists of what has been called the axis of resistance to unite or coordinate their actions against Israel,” he explained.
With EFE and AP.
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