Tensions in the Middle East escalated Sunday, with the U.S. sending warships to the region to defend Israel if Iran attacks. Meanwhile, several Western governments urged their citizens to leave Lebanon as Hezbollah launched a series of attacks targeting Israel.
France warned of a “very unstable” situation following last week's Israeli airstrike on a building in Beirut that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, and hours later Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. Iran blames Israel for the death of the Hamas leader.
The US, France, Canada and Britain have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon, and neighboring Jordan has also urged them to do so. Several airlines have suspended or restricted service to the region.
Jonathan Finer, deputy adviser to the White House National Security Council, told CBS’s “Face the Nation,” “Our goal is to de-escalate, our goal is to deter, our goal is to defend Israel.”
“We are prepared for every eventuality,” Finer said on ABC’s “This Week.”
He added, “In our opinion, war in the region benefits no one.”
After Haniyeh was murdered last week in Tehran at a guesthouse where he was staying shortly after attending the inauguration of Iran's new president, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement, “We consider it our duty to retaliate.”
Khamenei ordered a direct attack on Israel in retaliation for Haniyeh's murder, according to a New York Times report citing three Iranian officials.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told Fox News Sunday, “When the supreme leader says he’s going to respond, we have to take that seriously. We have to make sure we’re ready.”
US President Joe Biden, when asked by reporters Saturday whether he thought Iran would back down, said, “I hope so. I don’t know.”
The Israeli military said Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militants fired 30 projectiles into northern Israel overnight Saturday and into Sunday, but Israel shot down most of them. The two warring sides have exchanged fire almost daily since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza nearly 10 months ago.
Even as Israel was on high alert for attacks from Tehran, medics and police said two people were killed Sunday in a stabbing attack in a Tel Aviv suburb. The attacker, a Palestinian from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was “neutralized” by police and taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, fighting rages in Gaza, as Israel's war against Hamas, a US-designated terror group, approaches 10 months with no sign of ending. (uh/ab)
