A pair of assassinations of anti-Israel militant leaders hours apart is threatening to set off a regional clash and upend already fragile talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza. The deadly round of strikes, retaliation and negotiations escalated Wednesday when Hamas’ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed, hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility, but Iran threatened revenge against Israel.
Quick Read
- What to know about the escalating conflict and Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks after 2 assassinations
- Assassinations and Rising Tensions: The killings of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut have escalated regional tensions and jeopardized ongoing Gaza cease-fire negotiations.
- Cease-Fire Talks in Jeopardy: Haniyeh’s killing has cast doubt on the cease-fire talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S., with senior Hamas officials expressing commitment to continue negotiations and resistance.
- Diverging U.S. and Israeli Paths: The killings highlight a growing rift between Israel’s actions and the Biden administration’s efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. The U.S. has denied involvement in Haniyeh’s assassination.
- History of Targeted Killings: Israel has a long history of targeted assassinations, with several high-profile killings in recent months, including Hamas and Iranian military leaders.
- Potential for Regional War: The recent events have raised serious concerns about a regional war, with the possibility of Iran and its proxies retaliating against Israeli or Jewish targets globally.
The Associated Press has the story:
What to know about escalating conflict, Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks after 2 assassinations
Newslooks- (AP)
A pair of assassinations of anti-Israel militant leaders hours apart is threatening to set off a regional clash and upend already fragile talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza. The deadly round of strikes, retaliation and negotiations escalated Wednesday when Hamas’ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed, hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility, but Iran threatened revenge against Israel.
It was the second assassination in less than a day to be blamed on Israel. On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in an airstrike in a Beirut suburb. The killing followed the rocket attack Saturday on the town of Majdal Shams that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Iran-backed Hezbollah denied it was behind the Majdal Shams attack. The U.N. Security Council was expected to hold an emergency meeting amid efforts to prevent Mideast tensions from boiling over.
Here’s what to know about the intensifying conflict.
Gaza cease-fire talks in question
Concern about the cease-fire talks have soared in the wake of Haniyeh’s killing. Before the strikes, there were some hopes that Israel and Hamas might have been nearing an agreement to pause the war. The negotiations were mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. Haniyeh was among the negotiators.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, told journalists in Iran that whoever replaces Haniyeh will “follow the same vision” regarding negotiations to end the war — and continue in the same policy of resistance against Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged the prime minister of Qatar, a key mediator in cease-fire talks, to continue working toward an agreement that would “secure the release of hostages, alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and unlock the possibility of broader stability,” the State Department said. Hamas’ top political officials were based in Qatar.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani asked on social media: “Can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.”
U.S. and Israel on divergent paths
The killings suggest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is more openly at odds with the Biden administration’s attempts to calm the tensions in the region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Americans weren’t aware of or involved in the Haniyeh attack. A cease-fire, Blinken said, remained “the best way to bring the temperature down everywhere.”
But the overnight strike may have all but destroyed those U.S. hopes for the time being. “I just don’t see how a cease-fire is feasible right now with the assassination of the person you would have been negotiating with,” said Vali Nasr, a former U.S. diplomat now at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
If cycles of retaliation and counter-retaliation unspool as expected and feared, Haniyeh’s killing could thwart the administration’s hopes of restraining any Israeli inflammatory actions. As the U.S. political campaign enters its last months, it’ll be harder for the Biden administration to break away — should it want to — from an ally with whom it has historical, security, economic and political ties.
A long history of targeted killings
The pair of killings this week are the latest in decades of targeted strikes to be blamed on Israel, with several allegedly this year alone. Weeks ago, Israel targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commander Mohammed Deif in a massive strike in the crowded southern Gaza Strip. The strike killed at least 90 people including children, according to local health officials. Deif’s fate remains unknown.
In April, two Iranian generals were killed in what Iran said was an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The deaths prompted Iran to launch an unprecedented attack against Israeli territory, launching 300 missiles and drones, most of which were intercepted. In January, an Israeli drone strike in Beirut killed Saleh Arouri, a top Hamas official in exile, as Israeli troops battled the militant group in Gaza.
A regional war?
The complex dynamics add up to serious concerns about a regional war and which countries could get drawn into one. “We’ve now seen again that Israel can target anywhere in Iran. But this time there is a question of the safety of the Iranian senior officials,” Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow with the international security program at Chatham House, said. “Israel is basically sending a message to the Iranians: ‘We can kill any one of you anywhere, anytime.’ And that is very dangerous.”
He added: “Iran has many long arms known as proxies, but they act as sub-states in many places, in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Gaza, of course, in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem. So they have got their people training, arming, planning everywhere, and they can reach anywhere in the world. “They can also hit Israeli or Jewish targets globally. And the question really is, what’s next?”
