Extreme Tensions in the Middle East

Aware that Israel’s security cabinet has authorised its government to decide on the ‘manner and timing’ of its response, Lebanon is now braced for significant Israeli retaliation following the Hezbollah rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Druze village of Majdal Shams on Saturday.

The Israeli air force has conducted several strikes against Hezbollah targets since then, including a drone strike which killed two people and wounded three on Monday, but those are considered ‘normal’ activities within the ongoing conflict.

Once the nature of the casualties became clear on Saturday, Hezbollah quickly denied responsibility for the strike on Majdal Shams and sought to blame it on an Israeli interceptor missile.

But the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) found fragments at the scene that showed it was a Falaq-1 rocket that fell on the young footballers, one that was made in Iran. The IDF even claimed to know the identity of the Hezbollah commander who directed the attack from a site in Shebaa, southern Lebanon.

One sign of the tensions is Lufthansa’s decision to extend the suspension of its flights to Beirut until Monday 5th August, a spokesman saying the move is a result of ‘current developments in the Middle East.’

Other reports go as far as to say that panic has spread across Lebanon; while countries like Saudi Arabia, France, Norway and Sweden have all urged their citizens to leave the country as soon as possible.

Because Hezbollah is well-prepared for a full-scale conflict with Israel, having constructed a major tunnel network more sophisticated than that of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it is thought that a full-scale war between the two will carry an enormous cost in terms of lives lost and communities damaged.

It is not surprising, therefore, that many senior politicians around the world have urged the Israelis to show restraint.

This report by CNN.