For today, links to seven reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from SheerPost, Common Dreams, Middle East Eye and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel says it has confirmed Hamas military wing chief Mohammed Deif was killed in a July strike, by Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy | AP JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said today it has confirmed that the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. The announcement comes a day after an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital killed Hamas’ top political leader. READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE and HERE for related report from AP and two from Reuters.
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After 2 assassinations in the Middle East, the region braces for all-out war. Reported by Tom Bowman, Aya Batrawy and A Martínez | NPR The killing of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and the killing of a top Hamas official in Iran are stoking very real fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM JULY 31 The killings of top leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah stun Middle East. Reported by Jane Arraf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR Within the last day, leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah were killed in apparent assassinations by Israel. Iran backs both Hamas and Hezbollah. And now, many groups are vowing revenge. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM JULY 31 Assassination of Hamas leader inflames regional tensions. Reported by Alejandra Marquez Janse, Sarah Handel and Ailsa Chang | NPR Khaled Elgindy, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, talks about what the future may look like for Hamas after one of its top leader was allegedly assassinated by Israel. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM JULY 31 The murder of Ismail Haniyeh, by Patrick Lawrence | Original to ScheerPost Some reflections, written urgently in response to the urgency of the moment, on the assassination early Tuesday of Ismail Haniyeh. The 62–year-old chairman of Hamas’s Politburo . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JULY 31 Netanyahu risks regional war with assassination, by Jake Johnson | Common Dreams / Consortium News The political leader of Hamas was assassinated early Wednesday in what the group said was an Israeli attack on his residence in the Iranian capital of Tehran . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ismail Haniyeh killing: Netanyahu’s only goal is to set the region on fire, by David Hearst | Middle East Eye In killing Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau in Tehran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent the clearest message yet to Iran and the resistance movements that he wants a regional war. READ MORE . . .
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Ismail Haniyeh killing plunges Biden diplomacy into chaos but shows Iran’s vulnerability, by Sean Mathews | Middle East Eye The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has thrust the U.S. into the thorny position of scrambling to prevent a regional war from erupting after the assassination exposed the vulnerability of its most potent Middle Eastern foe: Iran. READ MORE . . .
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It’s both criminal and desperate; that’s why Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, by Ramzy Baroud | Middle East Monitor Israel’s assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on 31 July is part of Tel Aviv’s search for a wider regional conflict. It is a criminal act that reeks of desperation. Almost immediately after . . . READ MORE . . .