Revenge killings in the Middle East

One of the notable aspects of the Israeli attacks in Lebanon this week has been the targeting of specific Hezbollah commanders. One of them has been on a most-wanted list for decades, not just a list compiled by Mossad but also by the CIA. Ibrahim Aqil was supposed to have been one of those who planned the catastrophic truck bombings in Beirut that killed more than 300 people. The targets were the US Marine barracks and US embassy in the Lebanese capital. This was in 1983. So, 41 years later, he has been killed. So the killing was a coup for Israel for tracking this man down and a coup for the CIA which, presumably, has been trying to track him down for four decades. The war against Hamas and Hezbollah has truly taken on a different character ever since the pager and walkie-talkie blasts this week. It's all-out war with Hezbollah, short of a ground offensive, although this cannot be ruled out. Israel has decided to throw everything at its enemies in the final weeks before the US election. We can expect many more targetings in Lebanon and probably an even more intense effort to find and kill the one man who has escaped the Israelis so far, Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas mastermind in Gaza. If they can get him before the US election, the incoming American president might find it easier to get a ceasefire deal. The next few week are going to be crucial for Israel.