Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, announced a “new phase” in the conflict with Israel following the assassinations of Fuad Shukur, Hezbollah’s second-in-command, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Speaking to mourners in Beirut, Nasrallah vowed revenge against Israel and its allies, declaring that the “red lines” had been crossed. In Tehran, at Haniyeh’s funeral, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed these sentiments, promising a response at “the right time and in the right place.”
The killings have heightened the risk of a regional war, with tensions already simmering since the October 7 attack by Hamas that reignited conflict in Gaza. Nasrallah’s rhetoric marked a significant shift, delinking the Lebanese front from Gaza and signaling a potential broader escalation. Meanwhile, Iran and its allies in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen have been increasingly active, firing drones and missiles at Israeli and US targets.
As the international community, including the UN and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urges restraint and diplomacy, the Middle East stands on the edge of a potential larger conflict, with all parties bracing for what may come next.
