Ramesh #NotGoingBackJan 8, 2024

A surgical #Israeli airstrike killed the most senior militant #Hezbollah commander in southern #Lebanon since #Oct7 attacks by #Hamas.

This is the second #extraterritorial #terrorist #assassination by #Israel in this conflict.

The previous one was the surgical killing of Hamas’ deputy political leader Saleh #Arouri in Beirut last week.

Hezbollah rockets hit a sensitive air traffic base in what it said was an #initialResponse to Arouri's killing.

#permanentStateOfWar

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-08-2024-18fbc9af50000c94fed59017fe82481e

Israeli strike kills an elite Hezbollah commander. Follow the latest updates

Hezbollah identified the slain fighter as Wissam al-Tawil. He is the most senior Hezbollah militant to have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel.

AP News
Ramesh #NotGoingBackJan 6, 2024

#Blinken starts #MiddleEast tour in #Turkey as #Hamas war threatens to #escalate in #Lebanon, #RedSea, & #Iraq.

Just hours before his talks with #Erdogan, Lebanon’s #Iran-backed #Hezbollah #militia fired 62 rockets at northern #Israel, warning that it was just an #initialResponse.

Meanwhile, #Yemen’s #IranBacked #Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks on Red Sea shipping.

Blinken is seeking #Turkish contributions to #reconstruction efforts.

#MarshallPlan equivalent?

https://apnews.com/article/us-turkey-israel-greece-gaza-hamas-jordan-36e5e1be205d5200916fd447c8c8e455

Blinken opens latest urgent Mideast tour in Turkey as fears grow that Gaza war may engulf region

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has kicked off his latest urgent Middle East diplomatic mission in Turkey as fears mount that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza may explode into a broader conflict. Blinken’s fourth visit in three months comes amid worrying developments outside of Gaza, including in Lebanon, northern Israel, the Red Sea and Iraq, that have put intense strains on what had been a modestly successful U.S. push to prevent a regional conflagration and growing international criticism of Israel’s military operation. The difficulty of Blinken’s task was underscored as Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia fired dozens of rockets at northern Israel on Saturday in response to the killing of a top Hamas leader in Lebanon’s capital.

AP News
Show threadRamesh #NotGoingBackJan 6, 2024

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#Netanyahu had threatened #Arouri's #preemptiveAssassination even before #Oct7 attacks.

#Israel targeted Arouri, deputy political head of #Hamas, in a surgically precise #extraterritorial drone strike inside #Lebanon.

Arouri was not a #Hezbollah operative.

YET, Hezbollah responded to his precise killing with 62 rockets, calling it an #initialResponse, thus erasing all of its previous attacks.

The cross-border #escalation came even as Israel has been scaling back its assault in the north