Demonstrators wave flags and hold pictures of the leader of the Palestinian militant Hamas group, Ismail Haniyeh, (C) and senior leader Saleh al-Arouri during a protest on July 31, 2024 in Beirut's Burj al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees, denouncing his killing.
Fadel Itani / AFP via Getty Images
In the Middle East, two assassinations in less than 24 hours could transform the region. Israel has claimed responsibility for one, and has no comment on the other. The first was an Israeli attack in Lebanon that killed a leader of the militant group Hezbollah. Then, just hours later, the political leader of Hamas was killed in Iran. The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in for Iran’s new reformist president. Hamas says Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired into his room at an official residency. Hamas and Iran both blame Israel for the attack. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after the two killings, he did not claim responsibility for the attack in Tehran. But other countries, including Iran, have already blamed them.
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Concerns of escalation
Trita Parsi is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a U.S. based think tank focused on foreign policy. He says that the timing of these attacks could be part of an aggressive campaign from Israel. "If it is Israel that was behind this, then within the span of 12 hours, they have targeted both Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran at the same time," He told NPR. "It's very difficult to see that as something that is not designed to escalate the situation further. We know that, from the exchange of fire between Iran and Israel back in April, the Israelis wanted to go much further. But it was the Biden administration that restrained Israel and made sure that it absorbed the blows that Iran gave it in retaliation," Parsi added. In Washington, White House spokesman John Kirby expressed the fears that many people around the world are feeling. "These reports over the last 24, 48 hours certainly don't help with the temperature going down," Kirby told reporters. "We're obviously concerned about escalation." On Wednesday, reports shared that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation.
Looking forward.
NPR's Jane Arraf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi joined Consider This host Ari Shaprio to answer questions related to what is happening with these assassinations. Like why, for example, Hamas and Iran are blaming Israel for both of these attacks. "Israel hasn't claimed responsibility, but it doesn't always when it comes to attacks on Iran," Arraf explained. "Other countries believe Israel was responsible because honestly, there are really no other countries that have both the means and the motive to carry out a killing like this. Iran says it will provide details when it has them, but those released so far point to a particularly brazen attack." Haniyeh, the Hamas leader killed, was a guest of the Iranian regime there to attend the president's inauguration and under their protection. "Iran has made clear that it doesn't want to be drawn into a war directly with Israel, but it said after Haniyeh's killing: 'Revenge is our duty.'" Hadeel, reporting from Tel Aviv, says that with Hamas' leader of negotiations dead, many are uncertain about the likelihood of a cease-fire deal coming to fruition any time soon. "I mean, the Hamas killing is kind of leaving everyone a little nervous about the fate of the talks. We're sort of all waiting to see what Hamas decides to do. Maybe they'll possibly halt the talks for a time while they regroup."
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