Islam and antisemitism

Athens is gravely disturbed about the upheaval in the Middle East, further augmented by the assassinations of Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, according to Reuters. Following Haniyeh's death, which Hamas attributes to an Israeli attack on his residence, Palestinian nationalist and Islamic groups have called for a general strike and mass protests.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas Political Bureau chief, has been killed in an attack in Tehran, Iran, as confirmed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday, according to Press TV. The IRGC, in a statement to Meher News Agency, reported that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence was targeted in Tehran.

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets and drones at Israeli army positions on Thursday, escalating tensions between the two adversaries as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza.

With the US in the midst of an intense diplomatic push to prevent a war between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, Turkey has also waded into the mix.

While it's still unclear what Turkey is looking to achieve should a conflict erupt, it looks like a policy is taking shape, especially after Ankara followed up on Hezbollah's threats to Cyprus with its own "warning."

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with Iran's acting top diplomat, Ali Bagheri Kani, on June 30 to discuss the war in Gaza and its potential to spread conflict across the region, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

When Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza this month, it dominated the news that Saturday, but Jerusalem resident Eliana Gurfinkiel, an observant Jew, didn't find out until nightfall.

The French-Israeli was following the rules of Shabbat and not using her phone. Hearing the news after everyone else "made no difference", she said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused Western powers of backing what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and "spread war" throughout the region.

Greece's foreign minister said on Monday that threats by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah against Cyprus were unacceptable and the European Union would stand by member-states against all such threats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the phase of intensive fighting against Hamas is nearing its conclusion, nearly eight months after the ground operation began. He emphasized, however, that the war will not truly end until Hamas loses complete control of the Gaza Strip, according to a Reuters report.