Fears Hezbollah could respond after Hamas official killed

BBC News

War in Gaza

Published: Jan.3,2024 11:47 AM(EAT)

This is significant because it triggers fears of a wider escalation in this war.

Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Beirut, was the most senior figure from Hamas to have been killed since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October.

Israel, of course, has neither confirmed nor denied whether it’s responsible – but it is widely seen as having carried out the attack.

We’ve had the Lebanese prime minister accusing Israel of a crime, and of dragging Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations. We’ve also had Hezbollah warning that this will not go without a response – or a punishment.

It was really in an attempt to calm things down, without claiming responsibility, that an Israeli spokesman called this a “surgical strike” and said that it should not be seen as an attack on the Lebanese state.

But Israel’s military says it’s now prepared for all scenarios and it’s certainly been reinforcing its air defences in the north of the country, with fears that Hezbollah could use some of the longer-range missiles in its arsenal against Israel.

International appeals over the Hamas leaders murder

There have been international appeals for restraint after the assassination of a senior member of Hamas in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

As we’ve been reporting, President Emmanuel Macron of France warned against any escalation in Lebanon during a call to Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet.

The Lebanese government has accused Israel of seeking to ignite a regional war.