Middle East war escalates dangerously

Israel said the airstrike on March 28 was in response to rocket fire from Lebanon, in the Middle East, towards its territory. Hezbollah has denied any involvement and accused Israel of using it as a pretext to resume hostilities. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the military action by his neighbor as a "dangerous escalation" while French President Emmanuel Macron accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. At a joint press conference with Macron in Paris, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pledged to investigate the rocket fire, but said all evidence showed Hezbollah was not responsible.

Meanwhile, the US sided with Israel, saying that its ally was only defending itself against attacks from Lebanon. US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stressed that the Lebanese government had a responsibility to disarm Hezbollah under the agreement and that Washington expected the Beirut military to do so to prevent further hostilities. At the same time, the US State Department issued new sanctions targeting five individuals and three entities linked to Hezbollah's financial network.

On March 28, the US military continued to strike many Houthi targets in Yemen. Yesterday (March 29), the AP news agency cited satellite image analysis showing that the US had sent at least four B-2 nuclear-capable bombers to the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean. This move is believed to be aimed at protecting the safety of US forces because Diego Garcia is out of range of the Houthis, helping the US maintain long-range attack capabilities and avoid risks when using bases of Middle Eastern allies such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE.