Fears of an extension of the war between Israel and Hamas to the entire region were reinforced on Wednesday after a double explosion which left at least 103 dead in Iran and the elimination of a senior Hamas official killed by a drone strike the day before in Lebanon. In Iran, at least 103 people were killed by a double explosion on Wednesday near the tomb of General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iranian military operations in the Middle East whose death Iran is marking the fourth anniversary of, reported a state media referring to a “terrorist attack” which has not yet been claimed.
Although not having claimed responsibility for the elimination in Beirut on Tuesday evening of Saleh al-Arouri, 57, Hamas’ political number two, Israel is singled out for the strike which targeted the founder of the movement’s military branch, after having vowed to “destroy” Hamas in reaction to its unprecedented attack on October 7 on Israeli soil.
The main information:
- Hezbollah denounces aggression against Lebanon after strike that killed Hamas number 2 in Beirut
- Israeli army says it is ready “for any scenario”
- France condemns “provocative” statements by Israeli ministers on Palestinian “emigration” from Gaza
- Gazans face severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine
Israel carried out strike that killed Hamas number 2 in Lebanon, according to US official
Israel carried out the strike that killed Hamas number two Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a US defense official said on Wednesday. “It is an Israeli strike,” assured AFP this official, who requested anonymity.
Paris condemns “provocative” statements by Israeli ministers on Palestinian “emigration” from Gaza
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Wednesday the “provocative” statements of Israeli ministers calling for the “emigration” of the population of the Gaza Strip as well as the re-establishment of settlements on this Palestinian territory.
“France condemns the comments of the Israeli Ministers of Finance, Mr. Bezalel Smotrich, and of National Security, Mr. Itamar Ben Gvir” and calls on Israel “to refrain from such provocative statements, which are irresponsible and fuel tensions” , indicates this ministry in a press release. Itamar Ben Gvir called on Monday for a return of Jewish settlers to Gaza and to “encourage” the Palestinian population to emigrate, the day after a similar call from Minister Smotrich.
Mossad will “settle accounts” with Hamas
The head of Mossad, the Israeli secret service, affirmed Wednesday that his agency “will settle accounts” with anyone involved in the bloody Hamas attack of October 7 on Israeli soil. “Today we are in the middle of a war. And the Mossad, today as 50 years ago, is committed to settling scores with the murderers who descended on the edge of Gaza on October 7, with the planners and their sponsors,” David Barnea said at the funeral of a former Mossad chief, Zvi Zamir, who died on Tuesday.
“It will take time, just like after the Munich massacre, but we will get our hands on them wherever they are. Every Arab mother should know that if her son participated, directly or indirectly, in the carnage of October 7, her blood will be on his head,” added David Barnea, quoting a biblical verse.
Israeli army prepared ‘for any scenario’
Now, “Israeli forces are in a very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defense and attack. We are highly prepared for any scenario,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. He spoke on Tuesday evening, shortly after the shock wave caused in Lebanon by the strike attributed to Israel in the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which partially destroyed a building in which the number two from the political wing of Hamas and at least six other of its cadres all killed.
“A movement whose leaders and founders fall as martyrs for the dignity of our people and our nation will never be defeated,” responded Ismaïl Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, denouncing “a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon” and a “expansion” of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Death of Hamas number 2: Hezbollah denounces “serious aggression against Lebanon”
Lebanese Hezbollah warned on Tuesday evening that “the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri” was not only a “serious aggression against Lebanon” but also “a serious development in the war between the enemy and the axis of resistance “, an expression designating Iran and its regional allies hostile to Israel. “This crime will not go unanswered or unpunished,” added Hezbollah, whose secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, is due to deliver a highly anticipated speech on Wednesday evening. The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, accused Israel of “wanting to drag Lebanon into a new phase of confrontation”.
For analyst Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center based in Beirut, “the risk of escalation is significant, but Hezbollah is trying to avoid being drawn into a conflict,” she said. to the 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. , again Tuesday evening according to the American army, to slow down maritime traffic in “support” of Gaza. French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to “avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon” during a telephone exchange with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, described the strike as a “cowardly terrorist operation.”
In numbers
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.
Cities that stop living
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. “The news of the martyrdom of (Saleh al-Arouri) is very difficult for us, but he is not worth more than those who died as martyrs in Gaza and are more than 20,000,” Diya Zaloum, a senior citizen, told AFP. young protester.
On Wednesday, the cities of Nablus and Ramallah in particular came to a halt, responding to the Palestinian Authority’s call for residents to observe a general strike. AFP photos show empty streets and closed businesses. In Arura, a small village north of Ramallah, where Saleh al-Arouri was from, the green Hamas flag flew above the family home on Wednesday. Despite demands for a ceasefire from the international community, the Israeli army is preparing for “protracted fighting”, which is expected to last “throughout the year” in the Gaza Strip.
Severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine
On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “deplored” “unacceptable” strikes on a hospital in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which including damage to local Palestinian Red Crescent facilities. 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 have been here for seven days, sleeping in the rain, without a tent (…) we had to beg for blankets in apartments around us,” sighs Wojoud Kamal al-Shinbary, who found refuge in Rafah, a town adjoining Egypt.
In Jabaliya, in the north of Gaza, Sajda Maarouf also testifies to her hell after local strikes: “the bombs fell on us, people were cut to pieces (…) we want a truce, please please, we are exhausted.”