Threat of escalation after death of Hamas leader

War in the Middle East - 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 by Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, planned for the evening.

First retaliatory attack against Israel

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 emerge from 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."

New WHO accusations against Israel's army

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.

What will be important today

The speech by Hezbollah leader Nasrallah is eagerly awaited. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the embattled Gaza Strip remains catastrophic.