(Jerusalem) Fears that the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas would spread to the entire region increased further on Wednesday after an attack which left 103 dead in Iran, the day after the elimination of a senior official of Hamas in Lebanon.
A double explosion took place Wednesday near the tomb of General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s military operations in the Middle East, as Iran commemorates the fourth anniversary of his death, state media reported, referring to a “terrorist attack” which has not yet been claimed.
Accusing the “diabolical and criminal enemies” of Iran, the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted by promising “a severe response” to this “disaster”.
The day before, it was in the heart of a stronghold of Lebanese Hezbollah supported by Iran, in the suburbs of Beirut, that Saleh al-Arouri, 57 years old, political number two of Hamas and one of the founders of the branch army of the Palestinian Islamist movement, was killed by an airstrike.
Although not having claimed this elimination, Israel, which swore to “destroy” Hamas in reaction to the unprecedented attack carried out by the movement on October 7 on its soil, has been singled out since this strike which partially destroyed the building in which Saleh al-Arouri and at least six other Hamas executives died.
Fighter jet
In a highly anticipated speech Wednesday evening, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel: “At the moment, we are fighting on the front in a calculated manner […] but if the enemy thinks of launching a war against Lebanon, we will fight without limits, without restrictions, without borders.”
“A movement whose leaders and founders fall as martyrs for the dignity of our people and our nation will never be defeated,” reacted Tuesday Ismaïl Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, denouncing “a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon” and an “expansion” of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
According to a senior Lebanese security official, the attack that killed Saleh al-Arouri was carried out by an Israeli fighter plane, and not by a drone, as the official Lebanese agency Ani claimed on Tuesday.
Without directly referring to it, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari spoke on Tuesday evening shortly after the strike, assuring that Israeli forces were “prepared for any scenario”.
On Wednesday evening, the army announced in a statement that fighter jets had “struck a number of Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon, including terrorist infrastructure and a military building,” without further details.
She also mentioned “several shots from Lebanon targeting Israeli territory in the last few hours”, assuring that she had responded.
“Risk of escalation”
For analyst Maha Yahya, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center, “the risk of escalation is significant, but Hezbollah is working to avoid being drawn into conflict,” she said. to the AFP.
Salah al-Arouri “was a man who had a certain stature but his assassination will not weaken the resistance,” Mahdi Abu Mohammed, a resident of Rafah, told AFP.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, tensions have increased on the Israeli-Lebanese border, in Syria and Iraq where American bases have been targeted, and in the Red Sea with attacks by Houthi rebels. to slow down maritime traffic in “support” of Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7 left around 1,140 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Commandos from the movement had taken around 250 people hostage, more than 100 of whom were released at the end of November during a week-long truce.
The war which has lasted for almost three months has cost the lives of 22,313 people in Gaza, mainly women, adolescents and children, according to a new report Wednesday from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and the ‘European Union.
“Three long months”
Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas leader in exile for the occupied West Bank, is the highest-ranking Hamas official killed since October 7. Shortly after the announcement of his death, many Palestinians gathered in the streets of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
PHOTO JAAFAR ASHTIYEH, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“The news of the martyrdom of [Saleh al-Arouri] is very difficult for us, but it is not worth more than those who died as martyrs in Gaza and there are more than 20,000,” Diya Zaloum, a young demonstrator, told AFP.
On Wednesday, the cities of Nablus and Ramallah largely responded to the Palestinian Authority’s call for residents to observe a general strike. AFP photos show empty streets and closed businesses.
In the Gaza Strip itself, despite demands for a ceasefire from the international community, the Israeli army has announced that it is preparing for “protracted fighting”, which is expected to last “throughout the year”. .
PHOTO JACK GUEZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Dozens of buildings destroyed in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday morning, an AFP journalist reported strikes on Khan Younes, where the Hamas health ministry counted “numerous” deaths.
The Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents face severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine. Despite a UN resolution, humanitarian aid is trickling in.
“I’ve been here for seven days, sleeping in the rain, without a tent […] we had to beg for blankets in nearby apartments,” sighs Wojoud Kamal al-Shinbary, who found refuge in Rafah, a town bordering Egypt.
“Gaza: three long months of a brutal war: massive population displacements, mass deaths and injuries, massive destruction,” denounced on the social network UN in Geneva.