Concerns of a military escalation are growing in the Middle East, where the United States is strengthening its position

Fears of a regional conflagration are rising on Saturday in the Middle East, where ; the United States strengthens its military force, following the assassination attributed to Israel's Hamas leader and the death in an Israeli strike of a senior Hezbollah official, which Tehran and the Lebanese movement have vowed to avenge .

In view of “the possibility of a regional escalation by Iran and its partners”, Washington announced on Friday “a modification of the American military posture” to “improve the protection of the armed forces of the United States, boost support for the defense of Israel and ensure that the United States is prepared for various eventualities”.

Earlier in the day, the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated on Wednesday in Tehran, was buried in a cemetery near Doha, after a tribute paid by thousands of faithful in the Qatari capital, where he lived in exile.

Vowing revenge, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah accused Israel of the assassination, which came the day after an Israeli strike killed the military leader of the Lebanese Islamist movement, Fouad Chokr, near Beirut.

These two attacks fuel fears of an extension of the war between Israel on the one hand, and Iran and the groups it supports in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen on the other.

– “Deep” strikes –

On Saturday, Iran's representation to the United Nations said it expect Hezbollah to strike areas located “deep” in Israeli territory, and “not limit itself to military targets”

So far, “Hezbollah and the (Israeli) regime had observed certain lines that the attack (on Tuesday evening) crossed,” adds the representation, cited by the official Irna agency.

An undated photo released by the Lebanese Hezbollah press office on July 31, 2024 shows Hezbollah commander Fouad Shokr (L) and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at an unspecified location © HEZBOLLAH MILITARY MEDIA OFFICE – –

The Shiite movement, allied with Hamas, has been exchanging fire almost daily with the Israeli army along the Israeli-Lebanese border since the start of the war in Gaza, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian movement against Israel on October 7.

Ismail Haniyeh, 61, was killed by an “air projectile”, according to Iranian media, in a residence for veterans in Tehran, after attending the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian president.

According to the Israeli army, however, the only strike carried out that night in the Middle East was the one in Beirut, which killed Fouad Chokr in a Hezbollah stronghold, his bodyguard and five civilians.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened Israel with “severe punishment”, while Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned of an “inevitable response”.

Tel Aviv and Haifa “are among the targets,” wrote the ultraconservative Iranian daily Kayhan on Saturday, predicting “painful human losses.”

Iran: Hamas leader killed in northern Tehran © AFP – Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Omar KAMAL

But according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel is at a “very high level” of preparedness for any scenario, “both defensive and offensive.”

To strengthen its presence in the region, the United States will deploy more warships, “carrying ballistic missile defense” and “an additional squadron of fighter jets,” according to the Pentagon.

– Lebanon on alert –

Sweden announced on Saturday the closure of its embassy in Beirut after advising thousands of its citizens to leave the country.

A sign of the growing concern, rumors are multiplying in Lebanon, where civil aviation has denied having canceled all services to Beirut. But Air France and Transavia have extended until at least Tuesday the suspension of their connections with the Lebanese capital.

Destruction in the village of Chamaa, in southern Lebanon, after an Israeli strike, August 2, 2024 © AFP – Mahmoud ZAYYAT

For its part, France has called on its nationals passing through Iran to leave “as soon as possible”.

According to a Lebanese security source, a Hezbollah member was killed in an “Israeli drone” strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

According to a Hezbollah source, Iran and its allies are considering two scenarios, “a simultaneous response (…) or a staggered response from each side.”

On April 13, Tehran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israeli territory, in retaliation for a strike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, attributed to Israel.

– Gaza still under bombardment –

The Israeli army is meanwhile continuing its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas, in power since 2007, which it considers a terrorist organization, as do the United States and the European Union.

According to the Civil Defense, a woman and her child were killed in an Israeli shot during the night on a house in the camp of al-Bureij, in the center of the territory besieged and ravaged by nearly ten months of war.

The army said it “continues to dismantle terrorist infrastructures” in the center and in the Rafah sector (south).

In the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes, near the al-Maghazi camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on August 2, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

The attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas from Gaza in southern Israel resulted in the death of 1,197 people, in majority of civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.

Of the 251 people kidnapped at the time, 111 are still being held in Gaza, 39 of whom have died, according to the army.

The Israeli offensive launched in response to Gaza has so far left 39,550 dead, according to data from the Gaza government's Health Ministry, which does not provide information on the number of civilians and combatants killed.

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