The Washington Post: Middle East on brink of war

The belief that none of the parties involved in the Middle Eastern conflict desires a full-scale war has been contradicted by a series of targeted assassinations, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Washington Post.

In just one week, several events occurred that quashed any optimistic hopes for a diplomatic resolution.

As relentless Israeli bombings continued to strike Palestinians in Gaza, a suspected rocket attack by the Lebanese Shia organization Hezbollah resulted in the death of 12 children in a village in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Hezbollah denies involvement in the attack.

Israel responded with a missile strike on a southern suburb of Beirut, killing Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and at least six others. Israel stated that the commander was "responsible for the murder of Israeli civilians."

The following day, during a visit to Tehran, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political wing, was assassinated. Although Israel did not claim responsibility, the killing bore the hallmarks of a meticulously planned Israeli intelligence operation, The Washington Post writes. Iranian and Hamas officials blamed Israel for Haniyeh's death. He was the chief negotiator for militants in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.

"There is no doubt that we have taken another step towards a potential escalation into full-scale war," the publication quotes Sima Shine, head of the Iran program at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies. "We are in a situation where many red lines have been crossed," she added.

The Washington Post concludes that subsequent actions could be more radical than those previously seen.