In an explosive escalation pulverizing the taut border between the Iranian-backed militant outfit Hezbollah and Israeli forces, the Israeli military dropped a bombshell – confirming its overnight assassinations of two heavyweight Hezbollah operatives via air strikes across Lebanon.
The lethal strikes zeroed in on Hussein Ali Azkul, a dominating presence handling Hezbollah’s air defenses, according to Israel’s military barnstormers. Azkul’s ride was straight-up smoked when Israeli fighter jets rained hellfire, transforming his vehicle into a smoldering scrapheap.
But the onslaught didn’t stop there. In a separate strike out west in Arzoun, Israeli payloads erased Mohammad Khalil Atiyeh – a senior shotcaller from Hezbollah’s hair-trigger Radwan Force – the elite spearhead that’s mixed it up with Israel on numerous fronts.
This whirlwind of explosive strikes landed as violence surged across the Occupied Territories. Over in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials reported one fatality and two civilians struck by Israeli gunfire, while the Hamas militia governing Gaza floated unverified claims of discovering hundreds of bodies stashed in hospitals.
All this unfolded after Israeli media outlets had earlier been abuzz about Israel prepping a far larger offensive aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, before external pressures reportedly forced a scale-back.
With air raid sirens from suspected drones wailing across northern Israel soon after the assassinations, and Qatar – a negotiating presence between Israel and Hamas – voicing dismay over the strikes jeopardizing its peace efforts, it’s clear the regional powder keg is primed to burst.
The strikes drill home Israel’s svelte tolerance for Hezbollah’s growing clout and firepower along its northern border. But for the crisis-stricken Lebanese state buckling under economic sanctions and political paralysis, these assassinations could be the spark that combusts another cycle of disastrous conflict with calamitous consequences.
As the White House’s top diplomat Antony Blinken hinted at potential sanctions targeting an Israeli military unit, the path ahead is strewn with landmines. One thing’s for sure – by exterminating two heavyweight Hezbollah commanders in a single strike, Israel’s paramilitary serge has detonated a regional eruption that’ll scorch the landscape for the foreseeable future.
