War in the Middle East: The peace hoped for after the death of the Hamas leader, an illusion ?

With the death of the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinouar, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to see the “beginning of the end” of the war. But as the hours go by, hope fades. Hezbollah has even made it known that it intends to “shift into high gear.”

The Essential

• Israel announced on Thursday, October 17, that it had eliminated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli army operation targeting a building in the Gaza Strip. “Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, has been “eliminated,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a press statement. Body of Palestinian Militia Leader Identified.
• For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the death of the Hamas leader could mark “the beginning of the end” of the war waged for more than a year in Gaza against the Islamic organization after the attack of October 7. “This does not mean the end of the war in Gaza, but the beginning of the end,” he specified on the night of Thursday to Friday.
• On the ground, Hezbollah announced shift “up a gear” in its war with Israel on Friday. The pro-Iranian movement has been firing missiles or rockets toward the Hebrew state for more than a year.

Latest updates

10:12 – Drone targeted Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence, Israel says

The Israeli military announced that a drone from Lebanon hit “a structure in the area of ​​Caesarea,” a coastal city in central Israel. The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that the private residence of Benjamin Netanyahu was the target of the attack. “The prime minister and his wife were not there and there were no casualties in the incident,” it is written.

09:34 – Despite the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar, Hamas is “alive and will remain so”

The loss of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas, “is certainly painful for the resistance front” against Israel, “but it will not stop at all with Sinwar's martyrdom,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assured Saturday in a statement, relayed by Le Monde. He claims that the Palestinian movement is “alive and will remain so”.

10/18/24- 11:28 PM – Yahya Sinwar's bodyguard killed in Gaza, says Israel

END OF LIVE – While Turkey presented its condolences to Hamas after the death of its leader, the Israeli army announced this Friday evening that it had killed the man in charge of protecting Yahya Sinouar. According to Tsahal, the bodyguard died during a clash that occurred not far from the place where Hamas leader died on Wednesday.

10/18/24 – 10:06 PM – “Suspicious air target” from Syria intercepted by Israel

The IDF, the Israeli army, confirmed on Friday evening the information from Hezbollah, indicating that new rocket attacks had been carried out from Lebanon. Some of them were intercepted in the north of the Hebrew state. “The rest fell in a cleared area,” the Israeli army specified. The IDF also reported a “suspicious air target” coming from Syria. It too could have been intercepted before reaching the territory.

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10/18/24 – 8:32 PM – The joint call to end the Gaza war “immediately” by Biden, Macron, Scholz and Starmer

In a joint statement, the American and French presidents, as well as the British Prime Minister and the German Chancellor, called this Friday evening, at the end of a meeting held in Berlin, to “end the war in Gaza and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the civilian population”. They also condemned once again “Iran's escalation of attacks against Israel”.

10/18/24 – 7:12 p.m. – Hezbollah claims new rocket fire in Israel

On Telegram, Lebanese Hezbollah claimed responsibility for this Friday evening rocket fire targeting the north of the city of Haifa, itself located in the north of the Hebrew state. In the process, a second message reaches us, this time indicating that the coastal city of nearly 280,000 inhabitants has also been targeted.

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42,500. This is the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist offensive on October 7, 2023 in Israel. A figure communicated by the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government, on Monday, October 14, 2024, which reveals the intensity of the fighting that has now lasted for more than a year. Over the months, tensions have intensified, and as of October 27, 2023, Israel extended its ground operation to Gaza. The goal for Netanyahu and the IDF is clear: to “annihilate” Hamas. A week-long ceasefire was nevertheless in place in November 2023. After a major leap forward, on April 13, 2024, Iran launched its first massive attack on Israel. Allied to Hamas, Iran then fired nearly 350 explosive drones and missiles at the Hebrew state. An attack in response to missiles fired at the embassy in Damascus in Syria on April 1, in which 11 people lost their lives, including seven Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, a new type of attack broke into the war. Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. Twelve dead and nearly 3,000 injured were reported in Lebanon. Since its coordinated explosions, Israel has continued to strike Lebanon with air and ground raids. More than 1,000 people were killed in IDF strikes and thousands of Lebanese were forced to be displaced. On October 1, 2024, Iran responded by sending nearly 200 ballistic missiles directly to Israel. Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a merciless war, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening on October 8, 2024 that Lebanon would experience “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if the country's population did not “free itself” from Hezbollah. Remarks described as “provocation” by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

On Monday, October 14, 2024, the Lebanese Hezbollah threatened Israel with new attacks in a press release. As a reminder, Hezbollah had struck Haifa two days earlier, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring no fewer than 60. At the beginning of the week, the terrorist organization indicated that “the resistance (…) promises the enemy”. The raid carried out “south of Haifa is only a foretaste of what awaits it if it decides to continue its aggression against our people”, it threatens. According to Palestinian doctors quoted by the Associated Press, the courtyard of a hospital in the Gaza Strip was then shelled by the Israeli army, killing at least four people and setting fire to a camp for displaced people.