Very high tension after the assassination in Beirut of Saleh al-Arouri, number two of Hamas. Israel has denied taking responsibility for the drone strike, but an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the operation "a surgical target".
The army of the Jewish state has already been placed on "high alert" for any possible retaliation. Hezbollah militants operating in Lebanon have threatened Israel, vowing that the killing of Hamas's number two will not go unpunished.
Iran has also joined this reaction, with the Foreign Minister saying that the killing of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut was a brazen terrorist operation by Israel.
"This shows that the Zionist regime has not achieved any of its goals after many weeks filled with war crimes, genocide and destruction in Gaza and the West Bank, despite great support from the United States," announced Iranian official Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Media reports that Israel did not inform America before the attack against Hamas' number two. French President Emmanuel Macron also reacted to this development, asking Tel Aviv to avoid an escalation or direct conflict with Lebanon.
Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas' military wing and led the group's presence in the West Bank. He was considered Hamas's number two, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had expressed a desire to kill him even before Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.
Arour's death has raised fears of further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Arour's killing comes as Israel has stepped up attacks in the West Bank following an attack by the militant group that killed around 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians.