Who is who in the 'terror summit' that has met in Lebanon to coordinate against Israel?

Tension in the Middle East intensifies every day. The so-called Axis of Resistance, formed by Iran's allies and enemies of the United States and Israel, have agreed to coordinate the escalation of their response to the offensives launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas on the Israeli population on June 7. October.

The head of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, met this Wednesday with the leader of the Islamist movement Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people and captured some 220 hostages in a massive attack on October 7 in southern Israel. , and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), with whom it agreed to maintain “coordination” in addition to studying the steps to follow during its response to Israel. According to the UN, after declaring war, the Israeli Army has in turn killed 6,547 people in Gaza.

“It was agreed to continue with the coordination, and with the monitoring of developments on a daily and permanent basis,” Hezbollah explained in a statement after finishing the meeting of its leader with the general secretary of the YIP, Ziad al-Najala, and the senior official of Hamas Saleh al-Arouri.

According to the note, during the meeting the three also discussed “what the parties of the Axis of the Resistance must do in this delicate phase to achieve a real victory for the Resistance in Gaza and Palestine, as well as stop the treacherous and brutal aggression against our oppressed people.”

Among the issues discussed were also the international positions on the matter, the latest developments in the Gaza war and the attacks that Hezbollah crosses with Israel from southern Lebanon.

Since last October 8, the Lebanese Shiite group and the Jewish State have been engaged in intense crossfire across the divide between both countries, where actions claimed by Palestinian factions present in Lebanese territory have also taken place.

Among them have been rocket launches and infiltration attempts by the armed wings of the PIJ and Hamas, which presumably would have acted with the approval of Hezbollah, under whose control the southern strip of Lebanon bordering Israel is located.

The escalation in the border areas has raised fears that Lebanon will become a second front in the war between Israel and militias in the Gaza Strip, while the Lebanese government maintains contacts domestically and internationally to try to contain the situation.

Nasrallah has yet to make a speech since the start of hostilities and this was his first meeting with senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials for the first time since the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated on October 7 and fighting began. .

New crossfires

The meeting coincides with a new episode of crossfire. The Israeli Army and militias in southern Lebanon carried out this Wednesday the eighteenth consecutive day of hostilities on the border, with new exchanges of fire that included rocket fire and at least one anti-tank missile towards Israel, which responded with bombings and artillery.

The Israeli military spokesperson reported this Wednesday that its troops attacked two “terrorist cells” that were trying to launch projectiles into its territory at different points along the border.. Shortly after, he added that an anti-tank missile was fired at a group of soldiers in the community of Avivim, to which they responded with artillery fire towards the site from where the attack originated.

The launch of this missile was claimed shortly after by the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which said it had hit an Israeli tank, causing deaths and injuries, something the Army denied.

In recent days, the Shiite movement has recognized a significant number of new casualties in its ranks and now has 43 since the outbreak of border violence on October 8.

On the other hand, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (FINL) reiterated this Wednesday that it continues to be in contact with the “parties” involved in the border violence with Israel to try to “reduce tensions”, which have been steadily increasing for some time. more than two weeks.

Hostilities in the border area began a day after the attack by the Islamist movement Hamas against Israel that left some 1,400 dead triggered a war that this Thursday marks its twentieth day of fighting and has left more than 6,000 dead in Gaza.

Although different Palestinian militias have claimed responsibility for attacks from Lebanon in the last two weeks, the main clashes are between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah, which are experiencing their greatest moment of tension since the war they fought in 2006.

The incidents on the border have so far left at least 63 dead: 6 in Israel – 5 soldiers and a civilian – and at least 57 in Lebanon, including 8 civilians – among them a cameraman from the Reuters agency -, 43 members of Hezbollah and 6 members of Palestinian militias.