(AKI) - Israel is using 'brute force' in its attacks in the Gaza Strip in a bid to change the balance of power in the Middle East, a Lebanese political analyst said on Tuesday. Talal Nizameddin, a political analyst at The American University of Beirut told Adnkronos International (AKI) while Israel is targeting Hamas in Gaza, it also has a broader strategy linked to the 2006 Lebanon War. "This military operation is intended show that Israel can rely on the military option to achieve its aim, and it wants to show its enemies - and not only the Palestinians - that it can use brute force to change the balance of power in the region," Nizameddin said in a telephone interview from Beirut.
More than 360 people have been killed since Israel began intense air attacks in the Gaza Strip last weekend.
The Israeli Defense Forces said the operations in Gaza were in response to the continued firing of rockets and mortar shells on Israeli territory, and that it intended to destroy the infrastructure of the militant Hamas organisation.
Targets included Hamas training camps, headquarters, large weapons storage facilities, and missile launching pads in the Gaza Strip, it said.
Nizameddin told AKI that the operation could be part of a broader policy targeting Iran, Syria and the Lebanese Hezbollah Islamist movement, as well as Hamas. He said the Israeli action in Gaza could be a precursor to a broader military operation, which could include Lebanon.
"There could be a follow up attack on Hezbollah, or Palestinian groups in Lebanon could fire rockets at Israel, who would in turn retaliate," he said.
Nizameddin also said the latest Gaza offensive could further strengthen the Lebanese Shia cleric Hassan Nasrallah and his ally, Iran. On Monday, tens of thousands of people gathered in the south of Beirut to protest against the raids. The rally had been called by Nasrallah a day earlier.
"If Israel succeeds - and it does not look like it will succeed - but if it does succeed, it would greatly weaken Hezbollah and Iran. However, if there is a ceasefire or the war drags on or becomes more protracted, it could greatly strengthen Nasrallah and Iran in the long run," Nizameddin told AKI.
Nizameddin, lecturer and associate dean of student affairs at The American University of Beirut, pointed out that there could be more protests in the Lebanese capital, particularly as people gather for the Shia celebrations of Ashura this week.
"I do not think we have seen the largest protests yet, until after New Year's Day when we may see the closure of universities and daily protests, but it depends on how events unfold in Gaza," Nizameddin said.
Nadim Shehadi, a Middle East expert from the London think-tank Chatham House, warned there would be widespread political repercussions and Israel's action would put more pressure on Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
"This is discrediting all the moderate forces in the region, and all the allies of the United States because of their inability to stop it and they are seen to be in alliance with this ," Shehadi told Adnkronos International (AKI) from Beirut.
"Killing people for the sake of killing people will not achieve any result. On the contrary it will create more anger and more support for the people they are trying to fight."
"When the battles die down, how will they look? What is the political cost?"
He said the United Nations, the Arab League and the European Union were looking "completely useless" and Israel's military action would boost Iran's clout in the region.
"This is weakening all of Iran's adversaries in the region, the Saudis, the Egyptians," he said.
Both Shehadi and Nizameddin were pessimistic about the prospects for peace particularly since Syria suspended Turkish-mediated peace talks with Israel.