Fears Of Iran-Israel War Grow As Tensions Remain High Following Ismail Haniyeh’s Death | Top Points

Fears of a regional war grew in West Asia after Iran on Saturday said Israel would receive “a severe punishment at the appropriate time, place and manner”. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also released a statement where it claimed that Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed using a “short-range projectile” launched from outside of his accommodation in Tehran.

It also accused the US of playing a role in the death of Haniyeh. IRGC said that Israel was “supported by the United States” in the attack.

Here is the latest from the region where tensions have risen following the Palestinian armed group’s political wing’s leader’s death:

• Iranian IRGC said that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed using “a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kilograms” and said it was shot at him from outside his residence in northern Tehran.
• IRGC’s claim came days after the New York Times in a report claimed that explosives were planted in the residence where Haniyeh was residing.
• The US, who was accused by Iran of aiding Israel, said it would move additional warships and fighter jets to the region.
• Hezbollah, Houthis of Yemen and Iranian proxies from Syria have already participated in the nearly 10-month war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian movement.
• Iran said it expects Lebanon’s Hezbollah to hit deeper inside Israel and to no longer be confined to military targets.
• To deter Iran, the US has ordered the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to replace the one led by USS Theodore Roosevelt.
• The Israeli army said its forces first struck a vehicle in a rural area northwest of the city of Tulkarem in the West Bank early Saturday morning, killing the five occupants. The army said they were on their way to carry out an attack.
• President Joe Biden said he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the chance for a cease-fire with Hamas, adding that Haniyeh’s killing had “not helped” efforts to negotiate an end to the war.