Middle East: Closer and closer to ignition – What does the election of Sinwar as the new political leader of Hamas mean?

Israel responds with bombs to Hezbollah's missiles and threats

xamas 2 MIDDLE EAST, HEZBOLLAH

While the Hamas and Hezbollah side is regrouping and issuing threats of a sweeping counterattack, Israel continues to strike military targets on Lebanese soil. After the Israelis last week assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the escalation of tension in the Middle East looks set to get out of hand, despite US appeals to both belligerents to avoid a widespread, deadly conflict in the region. . Mainly, since Iran, which backs Hamas and Hezbollah, appears poised to become directly involved in the conflict, with sweeping, unprecedented attacks on Israel.

Apparently, neither the Israelis, nor the pro-Palestinian separatist armed organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, show any inclination to compromise. On the contrary, the election of Yahya Sinuar as the successor of Ismail Haniya in the leadership of Hamas, is a clear signal that a new blood cycle is opening. Sinwar, after all, represents the most hard-line and uncompromising that Hamas has in its ranks. His election by the organization's shortlists was unanimous, as Sinuar was their warlord, the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 attacks and the most determined to fight Israel in any way possible.

At present, however, the initiative of the movements belongs to the Israelis, who on Tuesday, August 6, struck from the air Hezbollah military facilities on Lebanese territory, in the area of ​​the villages of Yaroun and Kfarkela, in the southern part of the country, at a distance of approximately 125 km from the capital Vyrito.

The Israeli air strikes in Lebanon were in response to an earlier drone attack by Hezbollah earlier on Tuesday that killed 19 Israelis, Israeli media reported, citing reports from the Galilee hospital where the victims were taken.

Hezbollah also launched another attack, firing a barrage of about 30 rockets into northern Israel. Which, apart from the strikes on military infrastructure, makes sure to make a show of force, with supersonic fighter jet flights, even over the memorial ceremony for a dead high-ranking Hezbollah officer in Virito. At the event, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a 90-minute speech to the assembled crowd, reiterating that "our counterattack on Israel will be powerful and effective."

Nasrallah described as "childish" the Israeli tactics of constantly harassing their opponents with provocations such as the latest overflights of warplanes at speeds above the sound barrier. At the same time, the Hamas health service announced that, in the hostilities from October 7, 2023 until today, 39.653 Palestinians have lost their lives in the Gaza Strip from Israeli fire.

Source: protothema.gr