Table of Contents
- Hamas and Hezbollah blame Israel
- Israeli security advisor seeks to defuse the situation
- Hezbollah chief plans speech
- Hezbollah's tunnel system comes into focus
- Report: No prospect of negotiating hostage deal
- USA sharply criticizes Israeli ministers
War in the Middle East - Hostage deal with Israel in danger: threat of escalation after death of Hamas leader
The 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 would not comment on reports of the targeted killing of Saleh al Aruri, the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon announced retaliation on Tuesday evening: "This crime will never pass without a response or punishment." Progress towards reaching a hostage deal is now no longer possible, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing Arab diplomatic circles.
Hamas and Hezbollah blame Israel
The deputy head of the Hamas politburo 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 were killed, including two leaders of Hamas' armed wing. The terrorist organization immediately blamed Israel.
Al Aruri, whom Israel saw as the mastermind behind 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 did not take responsibility for al Aruri's killing, as the Israeli government's security advisor emphasized.
Israeli security advisor seeks 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 the 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 escalating behavior, especially in Lebanon". This was announced by the Élysée Palace in Paris on Tuesday evening following a telephone conversation between Macron and Benny Gantz, minister in Israel's war cabinet, according to media reports. France will continue to pass on these messages of restraint to all actors directly or indirectly involved in the area, it said.
Hezbollah chief plans speech
Since the beginning of the Gaza war following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, there have been repeated confrontations between Israel's army and Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. There have been casualties on both sides. It is feared that the killing of al Aruri could now escalate the conflict. There could be indications of this today - in a speech planned for the evening by Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah.
Its fighters are "at the highest level of readiness", Hezbollah announced on Tuesday. That evening, the militia claimed to have carried out a first attack on a group of Israeli soldiers near the border. There were deaths and injuries. According to Israeli media reports, the army is now also expecting longer-range rocket fire. The Shiite Hezbollah is considered to be much more powerful than Hamas.
Hezbollah's tunnel system comes into focus
Like Hamas, it is also said to have a tunnel system which, according to a media report, is far more sophisticated than that of Hamas. The underground tunnels run for hundreds of kilometers in southern Lebanon all the way to the border with Israel, the "Times of Israel" quoted intelligence expert Tal Beeri as saying on Tuesday.
Hamas uses its own network of tunnels as protection from Israel's massive bombardments and to hide. The terrorists also use the tunnels to appear out of nowhere and attack approaching Israeli soldiers from behind. The terrorists are also said to be holding hostages from Israel.
Report: No prospect of negotiations on hostage deal
Under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the USA, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire lasting several days at the end of November. During this time, some hostages were released from Israeli prisons in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Following the suspected killing of al Aruri, negotiations on a possible new hostage agreement between the warring parties came to a standstill, according to the newspaper Haaretz.
The talks are now concentrating on preventing an escalation between Israel and Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper reported on Tuesday evening, citing Arab diplomatic circles. The "assassination" had changed the situation.
USA sharply criticizes Israeli ministers
Meanwhile, the US State Department sharply criticized statements from Israel's government regarding a possible expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. "The United States rejects recent statements by Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir advocating the resettlement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
"This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible," he said. The far-right police minister Ben-Gvir forbade any criticism from the US on the matter: "I hold the United States of America in high esteem, but with all due respect, Israel is not another star on the American flag," he wrote on X, adding: "The United States is our good friend, but we will do what is best for Israel above all else."
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) accused Israel of "ruthless" attacks on a hospital in the embattled city of Chan Junis in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service, at least five civilians were killed in the attacks, including a five-day-old infant, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on the online platform X, formerly Twitter.
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- The German Press Agency reported that Hezbollah, a Shiite militia based in Lebanon, accused Israel of being responsible for the death of Saleh al-Aruri, a high-ranking Hamas official in Beirut.
- The killing of al-Aruri, who was considered a mastermind behind attacks in the West Bank, has led to a dangerous escalation of the conflict with Israel and has put negotiations for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip on hold.
- Israeli security advisor Mark Regev attempted to defuse the situation by stating that the attack was not an attack on Lebanon or Hezbollah but solely targeted at Hamas.
- French President Emmanuel Macron urged the Israeli government to avoid any behavior that could escalate the situation, particularly in Lebanon.
- Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to deliver a speech this evening, with Hezbollah fighters reported to be at the highest level of readiness, indicating a potential escalation of the conflict.
- In response to the killing of al-Aruri, Hezbollah announced retaliation, claiming that "this crime will never pass without a response or punishment."
- The USA sharply criticized statements from Israeli ministers advocating for the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, regarding them as inflammatory and irresponsible.
- Israeli army officials expressed concerns about the possibility of longer-range rocket fire from Hezbollah, as the militia claimed to have carried out its first attack on an Israeli soldier near the border.
- The Israeli military did not comment on reports of the targeted killing of al-Aruri but emphasized that they are working on preventing an escalation between Israel and Lebanon.
- Like Hamas, Hezbollah is said to have a sophisticated tunnel system, with Hezbollah's system reportedly being far more extensive than Hamas's.
Source: www.stern.de
