Hamas

In the Middle East, two assassinations in less than 24 hours could transform the region. Israel claimed responsibility for one. It has no comment on the other.

First, an Israeli attack in Lebanon killed a leader of the militant group Hezbollah. Just hours later, the political leader of Hamas was killed in Iran.

The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in for Iran's new reformist president. Hamas says Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired into his room at an official residency. Hamas and Iran both blame Israel for the attack.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after the two killings, he did not claim responsibility for the attack in Tehran. He did describe the Israeli strike in Beirut as a crushing blow.

In Washington, White House spokesman John Kirby expressed concern the assassinations could result in an escalation of the conflicts already playing out.

Two assassinations in the Middle East have the potential to start a violent chain of retaliations. Will they?

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A rocket has hit a sports complex filled with children playing soccer in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights region Saturday afternoon, on the same day that an Israeli strike in Gaza devastated a school building and killed dozens.

The Israeli leader spoke Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Republicans are strongly supportive of Israel, while Democrats are increasingly critical.

On Saturday, Israeli special forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, killing at least 270 Palestinians and injuring hundreds in the process.

The rescue of the hostages was a moment of triumph for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he didn't have long to bask in it.

Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's unity war cabinet, announced his resignation on Sunday, over Netanyahu's management of the war in Gaza. After Gantz's resignation, Netanyahu will be even more reliant on far-right members of his coalition, who have vocally opposed efforts to broker a cease-fire.

The U.S. continues to push a cease-fire proposal outlined last month, and on Monday the U.N. Security council passed a U.S.-drafted resolution supporting that deal.

NPR's Michele Kelemen and Daniel Estrin help us get a sense of what this weekend's events might mean for the war and its ending.

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