'We are witnessing the emergence of a completely new Middle-Eastern landscape' "We are witnessing the emergence of a completely new Middle Eastern landscape," said Karim Emile Bitar, Professor of international relations at St-Joseph University of Beirut. "It will definitely be very difficult for Israel to get the hostages released before launching this ground operation, and if Israel does launch a ground operation, it could very well be one of the bloodiest chapters in the long history of Arab-Israeli conflicts."