Hamas assassination number two: Macron calls to ‘avoid any escalation, especially in Lebanon’

Emmanuel Macron called for restraint Tuesday night following the killing of a second Hamas member in Lebanon in a targeted strike attributed to Israel. The French President called on us to “avoid any escalation, especially in Lebanon.”

The French President, who spoke by telephone with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the military cabinet, stressed that “any escalation must be avoided, especially in Lebanon, and that France will continue to convey these messages to all parties involved directly or indirectly in the area.” – said the Elysee Palace.

Recent events in the Middle East are indeed enough to worry anyone who fears the conflict between Israel and Hamas will expand in the region. Without directly mentioning the strike that killed Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon, attributed to Hamas to Israel, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed during his daily press briefing that the army is “at a high level of preparedness for any scenario.”

Dangerous voltage rise

For his part, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh confirmed that his movement “will never be defeated” after the death of his number two. “The movement, whose leaders and founders were martyred for the dignity of our people and our nation, will never be defeated,” Haniyeh said in a televised address. “This is a story of resistance and a movement that becomes even stronger and more determined after the killing of its leaders,” he added.

Rising tensions between the two camps have made the response by the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon even more explosive. The armed movement confirmed on Tuesday evening that Israel’s “killing” of Palestinian Hamas number two “will not go unpunished” in its stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. “The crime of killing Saleh al-Arouri in the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut is a serious aggression against Lebanon (…) and will not go unanswered or unpunished,” Hezbollah said in a statement, which has been carrying out daily attacks for almost three months. attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon.