Dhe killing of a leader of the Islamist Hamas in Lebanon has led to a further dangerous escalation of the conflict with Israel and torpedoed negotiations for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. While Israel's military declined to comment on reports of a targeted killing of Saleh al-Aruri, the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon announced retaliation on Tuesday evening: “This crime will never pass without response or punishment.” Progress to reach a hostage deal , are now no longer possible, the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” reported, citing Arab diplomatic circles.
Hamas and Hezbollah blame Israel
The deputy head of Hamas' political bureau was killed in an explosion in Lebanon's capital Beirut, as the German Press Agency learned from Hezbollah circles on Tuesday evening. According to Hamas, which is allied with Hezbollah, a total of seven people died, including two leaders of Hamas' armed wing. The terrorist organization immediately blamed Israel.
Al-Aruri, whom Israel saw as the mastermind of attacks in the West Bank, had long been considered a possible target. He is said to have been responsible for the activities of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank. However, Israel took no responsibility for al-Aruri's killing, as the Israeli government's security advisor emphasized.
Israel's security advisor tries to defuse the situation
“Whoever did this, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state. “It wasn’t even an attack on Hezbollah,” Mark Regev told US television station MSNBC in an apparent effort to defuse the explosive situation. The alleged attack was aimed solely at Hamas.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on the Israeli government to “avoid any escalatory behavior, especially in Lebanon.” The Elysee Palace in Paris announced this on Tuesday evening after Macron's phone call with Benny Gantz, minister in Israel's war cabinet, according to media reports. France will continue to convey these messages of restraint to all actors directly or indirectly involved in the area, it said.
Hezbollah leader plans speech
Since the beginning of the Gaza war after the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7th, there have been repeated confrontations between Israel's army and Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. There were deaths on both sides. There are fears that the killing of al-Aruri could now escalate the conflict. There could be indications of this this Wednesday – in a speech planned for the evening by Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah.
First retaliatory attack against Israel
Its fighters are “at the highest level of readiness,” Hezbollah said on Tuesday. According to their own statements, the militia carried out their first attack on a group of Israeli soldiers near the border that evening. There were deaths and injuries. According to Israeli media reports, the army is now expecting rocket fire from longer ranges. The Shiite Hezbollah is considered to be significantly more powerful than Hamas.
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