Israel is braced for retaliation from Iran and Hizbullah after two senior militants were killed in strikes in Beirut and Tehran.
Senior Hizbullah commander Fuad Shukr was killed on Tuesday night when a rocket hit an apartment in the Hizbullah stronghold of Dahiya in Beirut. Israel said the attack was in retaliation for a rocket strike in the Golan Heights on Saturday which killed 12 children. The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has made no specific comment on his killing.
Mr Haniyeh had been the face of Hamas’s international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th has raged in Gaza. He had been taking part in internationally brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire.
Speaking in a televised address on Wednesday night, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said “challenging days lie ahead” and Israel was “prepared for any scenario”. Mr Netanyahu said, “Israel will charge a very heavy price for any aggression from any arena.” He added that Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran’s proxies in recent weeks, including Hamas, Hizbullah and Houthi militias in Yemen. Mr Netanyahu said that, since the strike in Beirut, Israel had received “threats from every direction”.
Israeli security forces are preparing for all possible scenarios, including rocket or drone strikes on military installations or Israeli population centres; crossborder attacks; attacks via Iranian proxy militias across the region; or attacks on Israeli or Jewish targets abroad. Israeli ambassadors have been ordered to maintain a low profile.
[ Michael Jansen's analysis: Assassinations leave Middle East shocked and unsettledOpens in new window ]
Airspace has been closed off across the north of the country, which borders Lebanon. Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion international airport is operating but a number of airlines have suspended flights to and from Israel.
Israeli Air Force chief Maj Gen Tomer Bar said: “We are prepared and ready within minutes for any occurrence wherever it may be. There is no point that is too far.”
The mayor of Haifa, the largest city in northern Israel, urged residents to stay close to safe rooms.
None of the parties want an all-out war as a miscalculation by any side could plunge the region into a dangerous conflagration.
The United States on Tuesday urged its citizens not to travel to Lebanon and many airlines have cancelled flights to Beirut.
[ Israel targets Hizbullah commander with strikes on BeirutOpens in new window ]
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was obliged to avenge the death of Mr Haniyeh because the assassination had taken place on Iranian soil. He said Israel had paved the way for a strong punitive strike.
A large poster of Mr Haniyeh was put up in Teheran’s Palestine Square with Hebrew text reading: “Wait for harsh revenge.”
The armed wing of Hamas said the killing of Mr Haniyeh would “take the battle to new dimensions” and have major repercussions. – Additional reporting: Reuters
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