Israel and the United States are preparing for a potential Iranian attack on Israel as efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza intensify, with talks set to resume this week amid intense diplomacy to avert a wider regional war. <\/p>\n
Mediators have urged Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table in a renewed push to strike a ceasefire deal after the talks risked being derailed by the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders which Iran and its Lebanese proxy have vowed to avenge. <\/p>\n
Negotiations are set to resume in the Egyptian capital Cairo or the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday. Last week, the United States, Egypt and Qatar \u2013 key mediators in talks between Israel and Hamas \u2013 said they will use the meeting to present a \u201cfinal bridging proposal\u201d and urged both sides to attend. <\/p>\n
A major Iranian attack reprisal against Israel could risk derailing the ceasefire talks that US officials have said were at an advanced stage prior to the assassination of Hamas\u2019 political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran blamed on Israel. Israel hasn\u2019t confirmed or denied responsibility. <\/p>\n
In a joint statement Sunday evening, France, Germany and the United Kingdom endorsed the calls for the warring parties to strike a deal, saying \u201cthere can be no further delay\u201d given the simmering threat of a regional conflagration. <\/p>\n
Whether the talks will proceed however is uncertain. Israel said it will send a delegation to the Thursday talks, but Hamas hasn\u2019t confirmed attendance, even if has signaled that it still wants a deal. <\/p>\n
Following Haniyeh\u2019s assassination, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Haniyeh\u2019s death would \u201cnot pass in vain,\u201d and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that \u201cblood vengeance\u201d for the killing is \u201ccertain.\u201d <\/p>\n
There have been some indications that Iran may abandon plans to attack Israel if a ceasefire deal is reached. But the country\u2019s mission to the United Nations said on Saturday that Tehran\u2019s retaliation to Israel\u2019s suspected killing of Haniyeh is \u201ctotally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire,\u201d adding that it has a right to self-defense. <\/p>\n
The US and Israel continued preparations for that scenario over the weekend. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided missile submarine, the USS Georgia, to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region, the Pentagon said Sunday evening. The US also released $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on US weapons and military equipment, months after it was appropriated by Congress. And on Monday, the Israeli military suspended vacation flights for permanent personnel in anticipation of an attack. <\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s UN mission said it hopes that its attack on Israel \u201cwill be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDirect and intermediary official channels to exchange messages have always existed between Iran and the United States, the details of which both parties prefer to remain untold,\u201d it added. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hezbollah \u2013 the Iran-backed militant group in southern Lebanon \u2013 fired a barrage of about 30 rockets toward northern Israel Sunday night. Although rocket fire toward Israel from Lebanon has become a near-daily occurrence since the outbreak of war in Gaza, Israeli officials fear a larger-scale response from Hezbollah after the assassination of the group\u2019s top military commander Fu\u2019ad Shukr in a Beirut suburb last month <\/p>\n
But as the world watched Iranian airspace and the Israel-Lebanon border, the worst of the weekend\u2019s fighting was again confined to the Gaza Strip, as an Israeli strike on a mosque and school in Gaza City killed at least 93 Palestinians on Saturday, according to local officials. <\/p>\n
With the number of Palestinians killed during 10 months of war edging closer to 40,000, Israel\u2019s strike sparked global condemnation. Qatar and Egypt condemned the strike, calling it a violation of international law, and the US National Security Council said the White House was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about reports of civilian casualties.\u201d In the aftermath, the three mediators renewed their calls for the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire deal. <\/p>\n
Although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted a Hamas command post and killed several fighters, the strike was a reminder that, despite its earlier claims to have dismantled Hamas in the north of the Strip, the militant group has reassembled in areas previously deemed clear. <\/p>\n
After Haniyeh\u2019s assassination, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar \u2013 its leader in Gaza and one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel \u2013 as the new head of its political bureau, suggesting that Hamas\u2019 most extreme faction had taken over, further dimming hopes of a ceasefire deal. <\/p>\n
But, following the call from mediators last week to return to talks, Hamas requested a plan to implement the existing offer proposed by US President Joe Biden in July, rather than pursuing additional negotiations. <\/p>\n
\u201cOut of concern and responsibility towards our people and their interests, the movement demands the mediators to present a plan to implement what they presented to the movement and agreed upon on July 2, 2024, based on Biden\u2019s vision and the UN Security Council resolution, and to compel the occupation (Israel) to do so, instead of going for further negotiation rounds or new proposals,\u201d Hamas said in a statement Sunday. <\/p>\n
But, despite growing pressure at home to help bring the hostages home, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stymied attempts to reach an agreement. <\/p>\n
\u201cNobody knows what Bibi wants,\u201d one Israeli source said, calling Netanyahu by his nickname. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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