WILMINGTON, Delaware/RAMALLAH: US President Joe Biden expressed hope that Iran would desist despite its threat to avenge the killing of Hamas leader in Tehran, as fears grew that Israel's war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.
Regional tensions have soared following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top leader, on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which, like Hamas, is backed by Iran.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of killing Haniyeh, and they, along with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge. Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility.
Asked by reporters if Iran would back down, Biden said Saturday in response to a shouted question: “I hope so. I don't know.”
In an effort to bolster defenses in the Middle East in response to threats from Israel's enemies, the Pentagon said Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.
Haniyeh's death was one of a series of assassinations of senior Hamas figures as the Gaza war approaches its eleventh month, fueling concerns that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
Hamas said it had begun a “broad consultation process” to choose a new leader three days after the killing of Haniyeh, who was the face of the group's international diplomacy.
The United States and international partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt continued diplomatic contacts on Saturday to prevent further regional escalation.
The US urged its citizens who want to leave Lebanon to start planning immediately, and the British government advised its citizens to “go now”. Canada warned citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, saying the regional armed conflict jeopardized security.
VIOLENCE IN GAZA AND THE WEST BANK
The violence continued on Saturday in the Palestinian territories.
An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City killed at least 15 Palestinians on Saturday, hours after two attacks in the occupied West Bank killed nine militants including a local Hamas commander, Hamas said.
The Israeli military said the first of two airstrikes from the West Bank hit a vehicle in a town near the town of Tulkarm, targeting a militant cell it said was about to carry out an attack.
A statement from Hamas said one of those killed was a commander of its Tulkarm brigades, while its ally Islamic Jihad claimed the other four men who died in the strike were its fighters.
Hours later, a second airstrike in the area targeted another group of militants who had fired at troops, Israel's military said, during what it described as an anti-terror operation in Tulkarm.
Palestinian news agency WAFA said four people had died in that attack, and Hamas said all nine of those killed in the two Israeli strikes in the West Bank were fighters.
At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, according to Gaza health authorities. The offensive was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted, according to Israeli data.
A high-level Israeli delegation made a brief visit to Cairo on Saturday in an effort to resume Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian airport authority sources said. The Israeli officials returned to Israel hours later, Israeli media said.
The chances of a breakthrough seem low after the recent incidents in Lebanon and Iran.
Israel has not said whether or not it was behind Haniyeh's murder. But Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel had dealt devastating blows to Iran's proxies recently, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
