Situation at a glance: Israel and the USA prepare for a major attack by Iran

Israel and the US are bracing for retaliatory strikes from Iran and its allies following the killing of the political leader of the Islamist Hamas in Tehran. US President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone of US support “against all threats from Iran”, including its terrorist proxy groups, i.e. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, the White House said. Biden stressed the importance of efforts to de-escalate the region.

Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies

Netanyahu had previously warned Iran and its allies against an attack. “We will exact a heavy price for any act of aggression against us, from wherever it may come,” he said at a briefing with commanders, according to his office. In anticipation of possible retaliatory strikes, the army was put on high alert, according to media reports. Israel is in a state of maximum readiness, said Netanyahu. The US news portal “Axios” reported, citing three US officials, that the American government is convinced that Iran will attack Israel in the next few days.

According to the terrorist organization, Hamas’ foreign chief, Ismail Haniya, was deliberately killed in the Iranian capital on Wednesday night. It is not clear exactly how he died. Hamas blames Israel, but Israel has not yet commented on the matter. After a memorial service in Tehran on Thursday, Haniya is to be buried today in the Qatari capital Doha, where he had most recently lived in exile.

Hamas called for a “day of rage” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank today. During the Muslim Friday prayers, Palestinians should first pray for Haniya in the mosques. “May marches of raging anger pour out of every mosque to denounce the cowardly crime of the attack,” said a statement from the Islamists.

News of Haniya’s death came just hours after an Israeli airstrike in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah are all threatening Israel with retaliation. There are fears that there could be a major coordinated attack on Israel by Iran, Hezbollah and other militias.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah believes that a new phase of fighting in the Middle East has arrived. “We are in an open battle on all fronts that has entered a new phase,” the Hezbollah Secretary General said in a video message at Shukr’s funeral in Beirut. The enemy (Israel) must prepare for anger and revenge and “cry because you do not know which red lines you have crossed.”

Since Israel has to defend itself against rocket and drone attacks, the phone call between US President Biden and Netanyahu also addressed new US military aid for Israel, the White House said. Details were not given. Vice President Kamala Harris also took part in the phone call, which according to Israeli sources lasted around 30 minutes.

Erdogan declares day of mourning

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a national day of mourning for the slain Hamas foreign chief Haniya today. This was to express “our support for the Palestinian cause and our solidarity with our Palestinian brothers,” Erdogan wrote on Platform X. He had previously condemned the attack and accused Israel of trying to instigate a regional war.

In a conversation with US President Biden, Erdogan said, according to the state-run Anadolu agency, that Israel’s government had proven at every step that it did not want a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and did not want peace. Rather, Israel was trying to spread the fire in Gaza to the entire region. The killing of Haniya had “dealt a heavy blow” to efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, it said.

Reports: Hanija died from bomb in his room

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported, citing informants, that Haniya was killed in Tehran by a remote-controlled bomb. The assassins managed to smuggle the bomb into Haniya’s room in a well-guarded guesthouse of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s elite armed forces. The bomb remained undiscovered for several weeks.

Along with Haniya, a bodyguard also died in the attack. According to reports, the attack was portrayed by the informants as the result of a catastrophic failure of the Iranian secret services and a huge embarrassment for the Revolutionary Guards.

New fighting on Israel’s northern border

In response to a suspected Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets at Israel. The Israeli military said some were intercepted and the rest fell in open areas. There were no injuries. Shortly after the attacks, the Hezbollah launch site in southern Lebanon was bombed by the Israeli air force, it said.

According to Lebanese sources, at least four people were killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not initially comment on the matter.

For security reasons, Lufthansa has cancelled its flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv for the next few days. The ban applies to all of the group’s airlines and to both cargo and passenger aircraft, a company spokesperson said. The Lufthansa Group also includes Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings.