New Delhi: Tensions are resonating at its peak in the Middle East after the killing of Hamas’ chief Ismail Haniyeh amid speculations that Tehran is planning to launch an offensive against Israel. The United States has deployed its warship and fighter jets in order to back its strategic ally in case Iran makes a move. Reports have emerged that Iran is expecting Hezbollah to target deeper areas in Israel and not confine its targets to military establishments.
Is world staring at Israel-Iran war?
After the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah’s leader warned that the conflict with Israel has entered a “new phase”, as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut.The back-to-back killings have increased fears of an escalation into a wider war, leaving the region waiting to see how Iran and ally Hezbollah will respond.Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel for the strike that killed Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran.Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s assassination, but comments by Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari stopped short of an outright denial.International officials have been scrambling to avert a cycle of retaliation before it spirals into a greater war. Since the Gaza war began in October, Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily across the border in exchanges that have caused deaths and the evacuation of tens of thousands from their homes. But they have also stayed within limits.Several times, strikes that appeared to cross red lines raised fears of an acceleration into full-fledged war, but outside diplomacy reined in the two sides.
Lebanon’s Tehran-backed Hezbollah under pressure to attack Israel
Hezbollah faces strong pressure not to draw Lebanon into a repeat of the militant group’s 2006 war with Israel, which wreaked heavy death and destruction in the country.Israel and Iran risked plunging into war earlier this year when Israel hit Iran’s embassy in Damascus in April. Iran retaliated, and Israel countered in an unprecedented exchange of strikes on each other’s soil, but international efforts succeeded in containing that cycle before it spun out of control.
US deploys warshpip in Middle-East
The US military is deploying additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East, the Pentagon said, as Washington seeks to bolster defenses following threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.The US is bracing for Iran to make good on its vow to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran – one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian militant group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had approved sending additional Navy cruisers and destroyers — which can shoot down ballistic missiles — to the Middle East and Europe.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “all parties” in the Middle East must avoid escalatory actions that could plunge the region into further conflict.Speaking Thursday in the Mongolian capital of Ulaaanbataar, Blinken appealed for countries to “make the right choices in the days ahead” and said a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was the only way to begin to break the current cycle of violence and suffering. Blinken did not mention Israel, Iran or Hamas by name in his comments.
Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination
Haniyeh came to Tehran to attend the inauguration of Pezeshkian. Associated Press photos showed the Hamas leader seated alongside leaders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group and Hezbollah, and Iranian media showed him and Pezeshkian hugging. Haniyeh had met earlier with Khamenei.Hours later, he was killed in a strike that hit a residence Haniyeh uses in Tehran. Iranian authorities said the attack is under investigation but haven’t provided details.Israel had pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. On Thursday, Israel said it had confirmed that the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in a July 13 airstrike in Gaza. Hamas, which earlier said Deif survived the blast, did not immediately comment.
With inputs from agencies
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