The Middle East continues to be on a razor’s edge following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran, with the entire world watching with bated breath as mediation efforts by Middle Eastern countries and the US have fallen on deaf ears.
Israel warned on Wednesday that it would eliminate the new leader of Hamas, Yahya Shinwar. Yahya Sinwar was named Tuesday night as the new political leader of Hamas, succeeding Ismail Haniya, whose July 31 assassination in Tehran was blamed on Israel by Iran, which has vowed revenge.
Israeli authorities accuse the top Palestinian movement in the Gaza Strip of being among the masterminds of the unprecedented October raid on southern Israel, the trigger for that war.
In Israel’s crosshairs for years, Yahya Sinwar, whose movement is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and the EU, has not been seen in public since October 7.
“We will increase our efforts to find him,” the Chief of the General Staff of Israel’s National Defense, General Herchi Halevi, said yesterday.
While all mediation efforts have so far failed, the war, which according to the Hamas ministry has claimed at least 40,000 lives in the small besieged Palestinian enclave, threatens to spread across the Middle East, between Iran and its allies and on the other, Israel and its allies, especially the US.
See also: Saudi Arabia says Ismail Haniya’s assassination in Tehran violates Iran’s sovereignty
Tensions have skyrocketed since the July 30 deaths of Ismail Haniya and Fouad Soukr, a leading figure in Hezbollah’s military wing, in an Israeli bombardment in a southern suburb of Beirut.
Hezbollah strikes Israel in coming days, Iran delays
Hezbollah and Iran have an “obligation to retaliate” after the two killings, the leader of the Lebanese armed movement Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday, warning that there would be retaliation “whatever the consequences”.
On Wednesday, US reports said retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh would come in two waves, with Hezbollah striking before Iran. CNN, citing US officials, comes to confirm the new scenario, explaining the reason behind the separate attack being prepared.
Sources told CNN that Hezbollah appears capable of striking Israel regardless of what Iran plans to do.
One of the sources said Hezbollah is moving faster than Iran in preparing an attack, which the Lebanese terror group looks set to launch in the coming days. According to the US news network, multiple officials say Iran appears to still be working out retaliation plans, while a US military official says Tehran has already made some – but not all – of the expected preparations for a large-scale attack against it. Israel.
A second source says that, unlike Iran, Hezbollah could likely launch an attack with little to no advanced assets since Lebanon borders Israel. In fact, he adds, there is a sense among many officials that Iran and Hezbollah are not in full agreement on how to proceed.
Alert from Iran and Egypt NOTAMs
Egypt, in an unusual move, instructed its airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for a three-hour period in the early hours of Thursday, followed by an announcement from Egypt’s civil aviation ministry that all the country’s airlines must avoid flights over Iran on August 7 and 8.
On Wednesday night, Iran urged airlines around the world to avoid flying through its airspace, Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV reported, citing an Egyptian official. According to this source, civilian aircraft should avoid Iranian airspace because military exercises will be conducted.
Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry confirmed that it has informed all the country’s airlines to avoid flights over Iran on August 7 and 8, due to military exercises.
In particular, Egypt instructed the country’s airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for a period of 3 hours in the early hours of Thursday, amid tensions between Israel and Iran.
The NOTAM, a safety warning issued today to governors, states that the directive will take effect from 04:00 to 07:00 Greek time. No further details were given on the reasons for the NOTAM being issued.
«All Egyptian airlines should avoid flying over the Tehran FIR. No flight plan will be accepted for flights over this area’is highlighted in the warning, which refers to this three-hour period.
«Such a NOTAM from Egypt is very unusual. It is possible that this is an indication of an Iranian response to Israel and in turn a wider disruption of the airspace, at the same time there may be another reason.”reports OPSGROUP, an organization that shares information about aerial hazards.
Iran had also issued a NOTAM two days ago.
At the same time, as fears are expressed of a general flare-up, the German Foreign and Defense Ministries issued an urgent directive to Germans in Lebanon to leave the country immediately.
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