By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week could be one of the most consequential weeks in the Middle East since Hamas attacked Israel last October.
Events throughout the past week have led to some of the highest tensions in the Middle East between Israel, Iran and Iranian-backed proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas.
Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel after the killing of top Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh, who reportedly played a key role for Hamas in ceasefire negotiations, was killed during an overnight strike last week in Iran’s capital of Tehran.
Both Iran and Hamas blame Israel for the attack that killed Haniyeh, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
That attack came hours after Israel launched a retaliatory strike, killing a Hezbollah commander in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Israel alleges Hezbollah was behind the July 27 strike that killed 12 children in a soccer field in northern Israel. Now, several countries, including the U.S., are urging their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country as the region prepares for escalation.
“Over the weekend, we sent out a message to American citizens in Lebanon, making clear that Lebanon is a do not travel country. It’s a level four country. We issued a security alert encouraging U.S. citizens who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available for them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route,” said Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department. “This is an important moment for the region, and it is critical that parties make the right decisions over the coming days.”
The Biden administration encouraged Iran to avoid retaliation, and said a wider conflict does not benefit anyone.
“Escalation is in no one’s interest. It’s not in the interest of any one country, it’s not in the interest of the region and it’s certainly not in the interest of the millions of civilians who just want to live their lives free from violence and conflict,” said Miller. “Further action just raises the tensions, raises the risk of the conflict spreading and getting out of out of hand.”
“We don’t think these attacks should be inevitable. We don’t think that they should happen and we don’t think that they’re in Iran’s interests. But of course, it is prudent for us to take steps to deter and eventually, if necessary, defend against those attacks should they occur,” Miller added.
This comes as Israel and Hamas continue to blame each other for failing to reach a ceasefire agreement.