Powder keg Middle East

Hamas leader in Lebanon killed in attack

(Bild: AP)

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas reported the death of its commander in Lebanon on Sunday. Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin was killed in an Israeli attack in the south of the country along with some of his family members. Hamas is allied with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Israel increased the pressure on Hezbollah to stop its attacks and withdraw from the border area. On Monday, the Israeli army reported the attack on dozens of Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese Bekaa region. "Dozens of launching pads and buildings" were targeted "in which weapons were stored in the Bekaa region of Lebanon", the army said. For its part, the Shia militia announced the death of its commander Nabil Kaouk on Monday.

Targets in Yemen bombed by Israel
According to the Israeli army, dozens of fighter jets also bombed targets around 1,800 kilometers away in Yemen, including power plants and a port through which the Houthi militia is said to have transported Iranian weapons and military supplies. The information could not be independently verified.

According to eyewitnesses, the port city of Hudaida was rocked by explosions. The Houthi-affiliated TV station Al-Masirah reported four deaths. Like Hezbollah, the Houthi militia also repeatedly attacks Israel - according to its own statements out of solidarity with Hamas, against which Israel has been waging war for almost a year.

Meanwhile, three days of mourning will begin in Lebanon on Monday for the Hezbollah leader who was killed on Friday by a targeted Israeli air strike in a suburb of Beirut. However, the Shiite militia has not yet announced any information about his funeral. There also appears to be no successor to Nasrallah as yet.

Concerns about a ground offensive are growing
There are growing concerns that Israel's army could launch a ground offensive in the south of the neighboring country. Following the killing of Nasrallah, Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi hinted at this possibility on Saturday. He had approved plans for the northern command of the armed forces. "Challenging days lie ahead," he said. The Israeli army is "on high alert, both defensively and offensively, on all fronts". It is prepared for what comes next.

Experts speak of a possible "trap" that Israel could fall into. Despite the death of Nasrallah and almost the entire top leadership, Hezbollah still has thousands of experienced fighters and an extensive arsenal of weapons with which it could inflict considerable losses on Israel's troops in its southern Lebanese strongholds on prepared terrain, wrote the Wall Street Journal.

Is Hezbollah just waiting for Israel to invade?
Hezbollah cannot wait for Israel to invade southern Lebanon, the newspaper quoted a former Israeli MP and current employee of the Atlantic Council think tank. An Israeli ground offensive could help Hezbollah to rise "from the ashes" and regain the support of broad Lebanese society, it said.

Israel's commanders are aware of the danger of ground fighting, the newspaper wrote. The political problem, however, is that Israel's declared war goal - the return of 60,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah attacks from areas along the border - can hardly be achieved with air strikes alone.

More than 210,000 people displaced
According to UN figures, more than 210,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since the start of the new confrontations, including around 120,000 people in the course of last week alone. According to the United Nations, however, the number could be significantly higher, also based on the experience of the last war with Israel in 2006.