The Middle East was experiencing increasing violence in the past week, bringing the region closer to full-scale war. Tensions have escalated greatly since the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, which triggered a cascading series of retaliations and new military offensives.
A much-needed strike by Israel to Beirut killed Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime leader. The attack, aimed at his underground bunker, caused heavy damage over large parts of southern Beirut. The move put an end to the faintest hopes for a ceasefire that were being discussed in the UN General Assembly merely hours before. Over 500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes on Hezbollah during the week leading up to Nasrallah’s murder.
Days later, on Monday night, ground forces of Israel crossed into Lebanon. The operation marks the start of a large-scale invasion that can lead to the crumbling of Hezbollah’s military power. IDF said that with the operation, despite being “limited and targeted,” meant to eliminate Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks. As of now, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians are left homeless as the invasion continues. Eight Israeli soldiers are confirmed dead in fighting.
Iran dramatically escalated the conflict Tuesday evening by launching 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. While most were intercepted, a number did hit central and southern Israel, causing the killing of one in the occupied West Bank. It is not subtle to say Iran’s missile strike, so huge in scale, showed no sign at all of wanting any kind of full-scale war. Tehran has been careful not to take actions beyond that could lead to more catastrophic results, holding itself back for now to simple retaliatory measures.
The Western and regional powers are exerting pressure on bringing an end to the hostilities. The UN Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire and the G7 countries urged restraint; yet these efforts haven’t yet begun to yield any results.
As the battle unfolds, Israel keeps getting closer to winning Gaza and completing the destruction of the threat that Hezbollah offers along its northern border. With this much at stake and with so many different players involved, the danger is that this conflict could quickly escalate into a full-scale regional war across the Middle East. Of course, in the next days ahead, it will be crucial to see if the fighting will abate or if it will continue to deteriorate.