In the space of just over 24 hours, Israel said three top leaders in militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas were confirmed killed in Gaza and the heart of the Lebanese and Iranian capitals.
For 10 months, the region has been entrenched in some of the bloodiest violence we have seen in recent times. Everything escalated when news broke on Wednesday of the Israeli-claimed killing of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in south Beirut and then the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was also blamed on Israel.
Yesterday, Israel confirmed it killed the commander of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif – the architect of the 7 October bloody attack on southern Israel – in an airstrike on Khan Younis, Gaza earlier in July.
The announcement of these killings – so close to each other – pushes the region towards a terrifying and murky precipice. Iran’s supreme leader and Hamas vowed revenge against Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned there are “challenging days ahead”.
The United Nations secretary general and Qatar called it a “dangerous escalation.” Japan’s deputy UN representative Shino Mitsuko said the region was “on the brink of all-out war”.
Considering the Middle East’s current state – from Israel’s unprecedented razing of Gaza to the empty ghost towns of northern Israel, from the charred remains of bombed south Lebanon to the recent history of drones and missiles flying across Yemen, Syria, Iran, and Iraq – we are already in the grips of a wider conflict.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin August 03, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin August 03, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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