Hundred days Bombings Airplanes, advanced gods armored vehicles and the infantry of Idf have caused previously unimaginable devastation in the country Gaza Stripas well as the death of over 23 thousand people. Among them are only a few prominent members of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) and none of them Quds Brigades (that of Islamic Jihad), which actually also announced the creation of a new battalion two days ago West Bankcalled Balatanamed after a refugee camp nearby Nablusvulnerable to frequent attacks by settlers from nearby illegal settlements.
In recent days the Israeli army has withdrawn its troops JabaliahBeit Hanun, Beit Lahiya and Tel Hawa, the Al-Quds militants themselves wandering among the rubble of airstrikes – one of the most recent of which killed another Palestinian journalist, Heba Al Abdallahtogether with his daughter – and they are aiming for them Merkava Israelis with that role playing game.
The movement of troops appears to herald or in some sense accompany events in northern Israel and beyond its border, especially after the Defense Minister Yoav Gallantwarned of the possibility of an answer Beirut what was done in Gaza. For ninety days there were exchanges of fire with the militiamen of Hezbollah near the Blue line pursued byU.N. and air strikes on villages in the south Lebanon (even after using white phosphorus twice) have so far led to death 25 civilians. The last ones were two savior of the Islamic Protection Units (affiliated with Hezbollah), killed by one Israeli attack at the village rescue center Haninin which an ambulance was also destroyed.
This is an approach that is somewhat unprecedented on this front of the conflict, as it is the first time the IDF has struck directly emergency department. On other occasions, medical personnel in southern Lebanon had instead fallen victim to bombings “Double tap”That is, they were hit while providing aid in a place that had just been bombed for the first time. Compared to about 10 Israeli soldiers killed in northern Israel, there are over 150 dead among Hezbollah militants, although data provided by the IDF often understates and omits a certain proportion opacity associated with the need to protect its own security reasons, while Hezbollah tends – in a certain sense philosophically – not only to explain but also to justify and applaud all of its goals “Martyr”update the list in their media and celebrate every single funeral.
Right during the funeral of Wissam Al TawilCommander of a battalion of Radwan special forces (very active in the conflict in Syria, and whose name comes from Hajj Radwanthe nom de guerre of Imad MughniyehHistorical Hezbollah military leader killed by Israel in 2008, ed. Red.), Israel announced that it had been eliminated near the village Kherbet Selm Also Ali Hussein Barjione of the main commanders of the Party of God's drone fleet. The death of Barji, who orchestrated the drone strikes on Meron air base and the nearby Northern Command headquarters on January 6 and 9 Securedwas actually confirmed by Hezbollah media.
While Israel in Gaza does not seem to be able to attack important members of the Palestinian movements, in Lebanon Tel Aviv's change of strategy and reorientation seems to be emerging: in Beirut it is perhaps the case of the only Hamas leader of any importance, Saleh Al Aruri, for which Hezbollah's announced retaliation is expected; Israel is increasingly using weapons, particularly in southern Lebanon and Syria targeted killings, like those of Al Tawil and Barji. If it is true that a land invasion of Lebanon would expose Israeli troops to another conflict of unknown duration and potentially high casualties, also due to the increasing “specialization” of Hezbollah militiamen with (rich) anti-tank armament, then “targeted killings” are Israel's feared ones “Specialty,” a method it has been using since at least that timeAttack in Munich in 1972.
Hezbollah knows this well: the aforementioned Imad Mughniyeh was killed in its ranks in 2008 Damascusas well as his son Jihad in 2015 and his cousin Mustapha Badreddine – Head of military operations in the Syrian conflict – again in Syria in 2016. In 2013, it was his turn in front of his home in Beirut Hassan Al Laqqis, apparently killed by militants of a Qaedist group linked to Saudi intelligence, but, according to Hezbollah itself, by Israel, which, however, neither confirms nor denies this type of killing. It is likely that Tel Aviv is on the trail of at least four other Hezbollah commanders: Haytham Abu Ali Tabatabaeialso from the Radwan Forces (also known as Unit 125), which also has a reward of 5 million euros from the US State Department; Ahmad Fouad Hamade And Muhammad Yahya Kallas from Unit 133; Ali Mohammad Kazan of unit 910.
However, it is in there Iran that Israel has carried out the most targeted killings. Not just military people like the IRGC commander Seyyed Razi Mousaviwho was killed in Syria last December, as was the general Hassan Souhani Five months earlier, the general Hassan Shateri in 2013 the general Mohammad Ali Allah Dadi in 2015 or in general Abolfazi Alijani in 2022. In fact, there are six Iranian nuclear scientists – civilians – who lost their lives under mysterious circumstances and in attacks attributed to Israel between 2010 and 2023: Ardeshir Hosseinipour in 2007, Masoud Ali Mohammadi And Majid Shahriari In 2010, Dariush Rezaeinejad in 2011, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan in 2012 and the last, Mohsen FakhrizadehHead of Iran's nuclear program, killed in 2020.
A fully regional expansion of the ongoing conflict, to the point of direct Iranian involvement, or perhaps even Iran United States, currently remains a more distant hypothesis than the others. Simply because it's the same thing military doctrine Iran – aware of its military inferiority from a conventional perspective as well as its relative isolation – is based on the concept of asymmetrythat is, on support for regional militias Allied or Tehran-based attacks can destabilize the enemy and force it on multiple fronts.
A tightening Rather, it is likely that there will be a conflict in Lebanon, but it is not clear to what extent this could lead to the realization of what Israeli Minister Gallant feared, or to a continuation low intensity There have been firefights and raids near the Lebanese border, accompanied by the increasing use of “targeted” operations, such as the one that killed Saleh Al Arouri. On the other hand, the most recent accusation genocide towards Israel, brought by South Africa before the judges of the International Court of Justice has drawn a further spotlight on the cruelty of the Israeli siege of Gaza, which is far from over, and, beyond military feasibility, could lead Tel Aviv to choose this last alternative “Hybrid”.