Hezbollah will retaliate “alone or as part of a unified response” from Iran and its allies in the region, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Islamist movement, confirmed on Tuesday in a speech broadcast live. Threats that follow the assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, but which above all raise fears of an escalation, and ultimately, a new war in the Middle East.
Thus, through the voice of their head of diplomacy Antony Blinken, the United States have urged Tehran and Tel Aviv not to enter into a game of escalation that would lead to a “conflict” in the region. “There should be no escalation by anyone in this conflict. We are engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners and are making that message directly to Iran,” the US Secretary of State said on Tuesday.
Key information to remember
⇒ Hamas leader in Gaza elevated to head of Palestinian terrorist movement
⇒ Blinken urges Iran, Israel to avoid “escalation” to “conflict”
⇒ Israel: Last person missing after October 7 attack confirmed dead
Hamas leader in Gaza elevated to head of Palestinian terrorist movement
Almost exactly a week after the assassination of its leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas has chosen a new leader. On Tuesday, the terrorist movement announced that it had appointed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and one of the most wanted men by the Jewish state, as its successor.
A “strong message” to Israel, confirms a Hamas official. Same story from Fatah with the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas’ rival, who considers the appointment of Yahya Sinouar to be “logical” and “expected”. A “pragmatic, realistic and logical” personality, said one of the Fatah officials.
An appointment that did not fail to provoke a reaction from the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz. “The appointment of the arch-terrorist Yahya Sinouar as head of Hamas, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, is an additional reason to eliminate him quickly and wipe this despicable organization off the map,” he declared on his X account (formerly Twitter).
Across the Atlantic, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for his part, considered that it was up to Yahya Sinwar to enact a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with Israel. “Mr. Sinwar was and remains the primary decision-maker with regard to the conclusion of a ceasefire” in the Palestinian territory, he stressed.
Blinken urges Iran, Israel to avoid ‘escalation’ to ‘conflict’
While tensions intensified at the end of July with the assassination of Ismail Hanieyh attributed by Hamas and Hezbollah to Israel, the head of American diplomacy publicly asked Tehran and Tel Aviv to avoid an “escalation” that would lead to a new military conflict in the Middle East. A first since October 7 and the resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“There should be no escalation by anyone in this conflict. We are engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners and are delivering that message directly to Iran. We have delivered that message directly to Israel,” the secretary of state said at a joint news conference with Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles.
And in the face of threats of an Iranian response against Tel Aviv, Antony Blinken also reiterated his support for the Hebrew state: “Our commitment to Israel is unwavering. We will continue to defend Israel against attacks by terrorist groups or their supporters, just as we will continue to defend our troops.” On Friday, the Pentagon announced that it had deployed additional warships and combat aircraft to defend Israel and American soldiers in the region.
Israel: Last person missing after October 7 attack confirmed dead
It took almost ten months for the Israeli army to be able to confirm that the last person reported missing in Israel in the aftermath of the bloody Hamas attack on October 7 was confirmed dead following a “thorough investigation,” the IDF announced in a statement.
“Today, representatives of the Israeli army officially informed the family of Bilha Yinon that she is no longer alive,” the statement said, adding that “evidence was discovered in the area of Yinon’s home which, after complex tests, allowed to verify her identity,” and to establish that she had been “assassinated on October 7.”
That day, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza into southern Israel carried out an attack that killed 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data. Of the 251 people kidnapped at the time, 111 are still being held in Gaza, 39 of whom are dead, according to the IDF.