(OPINION) Israel has sparked fears of World War 3 as one minister said it would be going down a “dead-end path” with its newest decision to target another Middle Eastern nation.
According to Hakan Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister, Israel is now on the brink of war with Lebanon after recent scuffles dragged it into Jerusalem’s battle with Hamas.
This expansion is something Mr Fidan believes will hold Israel back and ultimately cost them more in the long-run.
Eastern European media outlet NEXTA tweeted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Mr Fidan argued the only way to solve Israel’s problems was through peace talks and the two-state principle.
Mr Fidan said: “I think Israel is barely holding back from going to war with Lebanon. But what I will say is this is a dead-end path. If it happens, the war will certainly not end.”
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon were enraged earlier this week after senior Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in the latter’s capital of Beirut.
Al-Arouri was the deputy political head of Hamas and alongside six other members of the Palestinian group was targeted in a drone strike while at home in the capital.
It provoked an angry response from Hamas, as well as Hezbollah – the largest political and military force in Lebanon and like its counterpart considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK and others – which said it was an assault on the nation.
Israel has so far not claimed responsibility for the strike, though an advisor to its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it was a “surgical” hit on Hamas – as opposed to on Lebanon.
In the aftermath, a spokesperson for the Israeli army added it would be “highly prepared for any scenario” following the assassination.
Sanam Vakil, director of the British think tank the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, said the Beirut strike would increase the risk of other nations becoming embroiled in the war.
