Israel’s Tuesday night strike on Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, was the first time during this war that Israel has targeted such an influential Hezbollah leader in Lebanon’s capital.
Hours later, the killing in Iran of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was considered the most brazen breach of Iran’s defenses since October.
The scale of that reaction could determine whether the low-level regional battle between Israel and the Iranian alliance tips into a full-scale, all-out conflict.
Some analysts said the killing of Mr. Haniyeh, Hamas’s top negotiator, also made a cease-fire deal in Gaza less likely in the immediate future.
Despite his title as Hamas’s political leader, Mr. Haniyeh is replaceable, said Joost Hiltermann, the Middle East and North Africa program director for the International Crisis Group.
Persons:
Fuad Shukr, Ismail Haniyeh, Mr, Haniyeh, Joost Hiltermann
Organizations:
Israel’s, International Crisis
Locations:
Gaza, Israel, Beirut, Iran, simultaneity, Yemen, Iraq, East, North Africa