Conflict Israel and other nearby countries

[EasterIssland]

Israel is at war with Gaza. However , this has dragged other countries in the area as well.
weve heard about the problems in West Bank (there is a thread) but also Lebanon where civilians have been killed and journalists have been targeted and killed

they’ve also attacked several airports in Siria.

ive read in the past there was a conflict as well with Yemen and read now this” Yemen's Houthis warn they will target all ships headed to Israel”

it doesn’t sound that post this war living in Israel is going to be safer than before

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-say-they-will-target-ships-red-sea-en-route-israel-2023-12-09/

The Times is reporting it, but it's paywalled.

"UK preparing for attacks on Houthi rebels with US"

Sorry @Thereissomelight I heard it on a twitter space about the region from some journalists on the ground. Looks like the papers are catching up.

Let's just pray and hope that the joint statement is enough as a detterant. Nobody wants to see this escalation

Deterrent*

Israel has bombed today and killed an important member of Hamas in Lebanon.

the side effects so far of this :
hamas will not negotiate for the hostages for a while
https://twitter.com/WarMonitors/status/1742249598075437164
blinken was meant to visit Israel and this has been cancelled as us hasn’t been informed about this strike
https://twitter.com/WarMonitors/status/1742259152187969891

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called the explosion in the capital Beirut "a crime" which "aims to drag Lebanon into a new phase of confrontation with Israel".
Mikati's statement adds that "many" were injured and killed in the explosion.

But isn't Israel saying it wasn't them that did it? Although the Washington Post is reporting that US officials believe Israel is responsible for it.

Netanyahu made it clear the hierarchy of Hamas were dead men waking pre 7/10 so I don't know why this is a shock.

Hamas released the statement about the hostages before this man was killed I believe. It was certainly posted on other threads.

It doesn't say in that Twitter post that America weren't informed. Just said it was delayed.

Mossad went after those guilty of war crimes after ww2 for years. It has always been the objectives to get these men. I think Lebanon keeping Hezbollah in check would help them not getting dragged into anything.

@Parkingt111 be interesting if it's not Israel. I wonder who else would want a leader of hamas's military wing dead? Would be a good cover?

@stomachamaleon Mark Regev's wording was strange. We didn't do it but whoever did needs to make it clear it was a surgical strike. How could he know that?
Is it possible that a third party was paid/bribed to do it by Israel hence the reporting that the US believe Israel is responsible for it?
I suppose more will be revealed in due course

From BBC

We've just heard from an Israeli military spokesman, who did not respond directly to the killing of Saleh al-Arouri - but did say the Israel Defense Forces are in a state of high alert.
Israeli media is reporting that Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: "The IDF is at a very high level of readiness, in all arenas, in defence and offence. We are in high state of readiness for any scenario."
A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the explosion in Beirut as a "surgical strike" against Hamas's leadership.
Speaking to MSNBC in the US, Mark Regev pointed out that Israel has not taken responsibility for the attack.
"Whoever did it must be clear - that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.
"Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership,” he added.

@stomachamaleon I saw the comment from Hamas in the other post. I understood that they said they won’t release until ceasefire. Whilst now they’re saying no more negotiations until further notice ? (I might be wrong on this one tho)

Well the Israeli UN representative tweeted this soon after the assassination.
https://x.com/dannydanon/status/1742224370213273770?s=20

I don't know if this has been posted here yet and not sticking around to read the thread on enough already. However the title of the thread suggests this is the place to post this

https://www.memri.org/reports/hizbullah-facing-criticism-lebanon-firing-rockets-south-lebanon-villages-thus-endangering

Could Blinken cancelling his trip be due to fear of escalation in Israel and for his own safety? I saw the army spokesperson say they are staying ready for anything tonight

@EasterIssland thanks

OK just seen sky news analysis says there is no doubt Israel is responsible which is why regev is emphasising that the strike was surgical but its a risky move that could well see a retaliation

@EasterIssland I can't see the Americans being that upset. There was a 5 million bounty on his head by the US department of the Treasury.

Puts further emphasis on Qatar asking Hamas to leave as they can't Guarantee their safety.

@stomachamaleon are you not worried about what the retaliation could mean for Israel? I feel abit worried at what this could all lead to

As mentioned above Lebanon’s pm is not happy about it and feels they’re dragging their country to the war

@Parking111 of course it would be arrogant to think otherwise. But Lebanon have been involved anyway before this.
Tbh this is what people wanted isn't it? More surgical strikes and less civilian. Taking out Hamas.

@stomachamaleon yes exactly this, I am not criticising the action but rather just expressing concern on what escalation it could lead to. Which also begs the question why they couldn't do similar in Gaza rather than bombing the hell out of it, using unguided ammunition killing thousands of civilians including children and injuring almost triple more than the death toll.

id be worried that at some point Lebanon government says enough is enough and they start a war against Israel. And I suspect Lebanon (hezbollaz aside) has got an army etc unlike Gaza

I copy it rather than link it as it’s from a Spanish account I follow

Official statement from Hezbollah on the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri: "The assassination took place in the southern suburbs of Beirut; it is an attack against Lebanon, its people and its security, and carries an important symbolic and security message for us. ..
Al-Arouri's murder will not go unanswered; Our hands are on the trigger and our fighters have the highest level of preparation. Today will be a memorable day for what lies ahea

Oz mainly reports from Ukraine but he's British-Lebanese and a voice worth listening to.

https://twitter.com/OzKaterji/status/1742258055893368939

"Hezbollah effectively operates a state within a state in Lebanon, and the areas under its control are very much under its control and operate their own security services separate from the Lebanese state. As journalists we have a responsibility to actually address that.

Hezbollah literally runs Dahiyeh. It is specifically unlike other neighbourhoods precisely because it has its own security apparatus that is separate from the Lebanese state.

You cannot apply these ideas from your safe countries to Hezbollah. It is not a normal situation. The areas under their control are not normal areas. They are highly militarised & dangerous to enter, you cannot even enter parts of South Lebanon without their direct permission.

It being Hezbollah run does not automatically justify air strikes! I should not have to be adding this caveat! Our jobs as reporters is to tell the truth, not hide uncomfortable facts about Hezbollah to avoid giving state actors a pretext for retaliation".

Sorry it's a copy of info but a good point... 

Try again...