Photo: Oren Ziv Agence France-Presse Israeli Arabs and activists wave Palestinian flags and placards to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, August 3, 2024.
Published at 8:30 p.m. Updated at 8:39 p.m.
Calls to leave Lebanon, strengthening of the American military presence in the Middle East and suspension of air links: concerns about a military escalation in the Middle East are growing following the increase in threats from Iran and its allies against Israel.
Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the death on Wednesday of the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in his residence in Tehran. His assassination came hours after an Israeli-claimed strike killed the Lebanese movement’s military leader, Fouad Shokr, on Tuesday night near Beirut.
Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s assassination, but has vowed to destroy Hamas after an unprecedented attack by the movement on October 7 on its soil, which provoked a devastating response from the Israeli army in Gaza.
Iranian leaders, as well as the Lebanese Islamist movements Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, have vowed to avenge the deaths of Haniyeh and Shokr, with Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, threatening Israel with “severe punishment.”
Opposing him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country was at a “very high level” of preparedness for any scenario, “both defensive and offensive.”
In light of “the potential for regional escalation by Iran and its partners,” the United States, Israel’s main ally, announced Friday that it was “changing [its] military posture” to “enhance the protection of the armed forces of the United States” and “boost support for the defense of Israel.”
Asked by reporters at his Delaware beach resort whether he thought Iran would stay away, US President Joe Biden replied: “I hope so, I don’t know. »
The US embassy has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon by taking “any available flight.”
“My message to British citizens is clear: leave [Lebanon] now,” said Foreign Minister David Lammy.
Sweden also announced the closure of its embassy in Beirut and called on its nationals to leave.
Canada, for its part, called on its nationals to “avoid all travel to Israel due to the ongoing regional armed conflict and the unpredictable security situation.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with his French and British counterparts. Messrs. Blinken and Lammy reiterated the need to “prevent the conflict from spreading” from Gaza, according to the State Department.
The war in Gaza has led to the opening of fronts against Israel by Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthi rebels, who together with Hamas and Iraqi armed groups form what Iran calls the “axis of resistance” against Israel.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Iran’s representation to the UN said it expected Hezbollah to strike “deep” into Israeli territory, and “not limit itself to military targets,” after the movement’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, spoke of an “inevitable response.”
According to Iran’s ideological army, the Revolutionary Guards, Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a “short-range projectile” fired at the building where he was staying after attending the Iranian president’s inauguration ceremony.
“The Zionist regime will certainly receive the response to this crime at the appropriate time and place,” they warned.
Tel Aviv and Haifa “are among the targets,” the Iranian daily Kayhan said.
The Houthis have also threatened Israel with a “military response.”
Meanwhile, the cycle of daily violence continues on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah announced the death of two of its fighters in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.
And on Saturday evening, Hezbollah claimed to have launched “dozens” of rockets into northern Israel, in “solidarity” with Palestinians in Gaza and in response to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon.
“The Islamic Resistance has added the new settlement of Beit Hillel [north] to its list of targets and bombed it for the first time with dozens of rockets,” the pro-Iranian movement said in a statement.
A sign of growing concern, several airlines have suspended their links with Beirut airport, including the German Lufthansa until August 12.
Air France and Transavia have extended this measure until Tuesday inclusive, and Kuwait Airways will interrupt its rotations as of Monday.
“I am very very scared, I will prepare to leave. “I'm afraid I won't be able to leave this country and I'll die here,” says Yana Abdelrida, a 23-year-old student in Beirut.
Nearly ten months after the start of the war in Gaza, the Israeli army is continuing its offensive there.
According to the Civil Defense, an Israeli strike on a school complex housing displaced people killed ten people in Gaza City in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory, ravaged and threatened with famine according to the UN.
The army claimed that the complex was serving as a hideout for Hamas, an organization that took power in Gaza in 2007 and is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
The Hamas attack on October 7 in southern Israel resulted in the death of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Of the 251 people kidnapped, 111 are still being held in Gaza, 39 of whom are dead, according to the army.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has so far killed 39,550 people, according to data from the Hamas-run Gaza government’s health ministry, which does not provide details on the number of civilian and combatant deaths.
In Israel, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other cities to call on Mr. Netanyahu to accept a deal that would release the hostages.
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