Israel maximizing gains before US transition

That the US Navy's USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East left the region over the weekend after several months of operations there has been widely taken as an indication of easing of tensions between Israel and Iran following Israel's air strikes on multiple Iranian targets late last month.

It's also in line with the progress reportedly being made in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hezbollah that are being overseen by the United States. A US envoy told the media that an agreement to end the Israel-Hezbollah war is "within our grasp" after talks in Lebanon on Tuesday.

But despite that prognosis, Israel has not ceased its attacks on Hezbollah. While the cease-fire talks were going on, an Israeli air strike on what Tel Aviv claimed was a Hezbollah target slammed into a densely populated residential area in Lebanon's capital late on Monday, killing at least five people. Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon since late September, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to severely weaken the Iranian-backed militant group that is in solidarity with the Palestinians during Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip.