'Israel' targeting Hamas figures in Lebanon 'highly risky': Media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
23 Aug 2023 00:41

An Israeli military affairs analyst says "Israel" is searching for a way to make Hamas leadership in Lebanon pay any price for the recent Resistance operations in the occupied West Bank.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets with a Hamas leadership delegation in Lebanon, on August 28, 2022 (Twitter)

Israeli media reported on Tuesday that there is fear of a response in the Gaza Strip or from Lebanon in the event that senior figures from the Hamas movement in Lebanon are targeted.

Alon Ben-David, a military affairs analyst on Channel 13, suggested that Israeli occupation Security Minister Yoav Gallant is looking for a way to force Hamas to pay any price for allegedly flooding the occupied West Bank with weapons, without excluding the Palestinian Resistance movement's figures outside the Gaza Strip.

Ben-David pointed out that there is a presence of Hamas leadership in Lebanon, and it is the side directing the execution of Resistance operations inside the occupied West Bank, adding that "Israel" is searching for a way to make this leadership pay the price as well.

However, the Israeli analyst mentioned that there is a fear of a response in the Gaza Strip, and perhaps a response from Lebanon, in case senior Hamas figures were targeted in Lebanon.

It is noteworthy that this Israeli fear is due to previous threats issued by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Nasrallah, who warned that any Israeli occupation attack against any Palestinian official in Lebanon will not remain unpunished and without a response.

This comes as Al-Khalil shooting operation sparked a state of panic and extreme tension among the political and security forces of the occupation and among settlers, which was widely apparent in the Israeli media coverage of the operation.

On Monday, one illegal Israeli settler was killed and another was critically injured after their car was targeted in a shooting operation in Al-Khalil.

The director of Al Mayadeen's office in occupied Palestine spoke of "hysterical reactions" in Israeli circles following the shooting operation in Al-Khalil.

Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to "reschedule a planned meeting of the security cabinet to next week" following the two shooting operations that happened in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported, citing the premier's office. The meeting was initially scheduled for September 10.

It is noteworthy that on Saturday, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Palestine reported that two Israeli settlers were killed in a shooting operation near Huwara, south of Nablus.

The military correspondent in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Yossi Yehoshua, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the year 2023 "has become the most difficult year since the second intifada," highlighting that 34 Israelis have been killed so far, compared to the year 2022, where 33 Israeli have been killed.

Yehoshua also noted that the number of security alerts is at a peak and stands at about 200 a day.

The Israeli correspondent pointed out that all of these events are taking place even after the Israeli occupation army deployed the largest range of forces in the occupied West Bank since 2005 and after it launched its aggression against the city of Jenin and its camp in July.

Israeli media described the situation in "Israel" as combining "humiliation on the northern border, rocket fire from Gaza, and an escalation of operations in the West Bank."