Israel and US brace for Iranian attack as diplomats push hard for Gaza ceasefire
Israel and the United States are preparing for a potential Iranian attack on Israel, as efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza intensify ahead of the expected resumption of formal negotiations this week.
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.
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 바카라 게임 웹사이트 key mediators in talks between Israel and Hamas 바카라 게임 웹사이트 said they will use the meeting to present a 바카라 게임 웹사이트final bridging proposal바카라 게임 웹사이트 and urged both sides to attend.
A major Iranian attack reprisal against Israel could risk disrupting the ceasefire talks that U.S. officials have said were at an advanced stage prior to the assassination of Hamas바카라 게임 웹사이트 political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran blamed on Israel. Israel hasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t confirmed or denied responsibility.
In a joint statement Sunday evening, France, Germany and the United Kingdom endorsed the calls for the warring parties to strike a deal, saying 바카라 게임 웹사이트there can be no further delay바카라 게임 웹사이트 given the simmering threat of a regional conflagration.
The White House said Monday that it shares Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s concerns and expectations about an attack from Iran in the coming days, pointing to increased American force posture in the region as preparation for an Iranian reprisal.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s difficult to ascertain, at this particular time, if there is an attack by Iran and its proxies what that would look like,바카라 게임 웹사이트 National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
But State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a separate press briefing Monday: 바카라 게임 웹사이트We fully expect these talks to continue to move forward.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Patel would not say outright who the U.S. believes is the biggest obstacle to achieving a deal, but said that the onus is on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.
Israel said it will send a delegation to the Thursday talks, but Hamas hasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t confirmed its attendance, even if it has signaled that it still wants a deal.
Following Haniyeh바카라 게임 웹사이트s assassination, Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Haniyeh바카라 게임 웹사이트s death would 바카라 게임 웹사이트not pass in vain,바카라 게임 웹사이트 and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that 바카라 게임 웹사이트blood vengeance바카라 게임 웹사이트 for the killing is 바카라 게임 웹사이트certain.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian furthered those threats on Monday, telling a Vatican official in a phone call that the assassination warrants Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s right to 바카라 게임 웹사이트self defense바카라 게임 웹사이트 and to 바카라 게임 웹사이트respond to an aggressor,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
There have been some indications that Iran may abandon plans to attack Israel if a ceasefire deal is reached. But the country바카라 게임 웹사이트s mission to the United Nations said on Saturday that Tehran바카라 게임 웹사이트s retaliation to Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s suspected killing of Haniyeh is 바카라 게임 웹사이트totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire,바카라 게임 웹사이트 adding that it has a right to self-defense.
The U.S. and Israel continued preparations for that scenario over the weekend. 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 U.S. also released $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on U.S. 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.
Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s UN mission said it hopes that its attack on Israel 바카라 게임 웹사이트will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트Direct 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트 it added.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah 바카라 게임 웹사이트 the Iran-backed militant group in southern Lebanon 바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 group바카라 게임 웹사이트s top military commander Fu바카라 게임 웹사이트ad Shukr in a Beirut suburb last month
But as the world watched Iranian airspace and the Israel-Lebanon border, the worst of the weekend바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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.
With the number of Palestinians killed during 10 months of war edging closer to 40,000, Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s strike sparked global condemnation. Qatar and Egypt condemned the strike, calling it a violation of international law, and the U.S. National Security Council said the White House was 바카라 게임 웹사이트deeply concerned바카라 게임 웹사이트 about reports of civilian casualties.바카라 게임 웹사이트 In the aftermath, the three mediators renewed their calls for the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire deal.
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.
Renewed talks
After Haniyeh바카라 게임 웹사이트s assassination, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar 바카라 게임 웹사이트 its leader in Gaza and one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel 바카라 게임 웹사이트 as the new head of its political bureau, suggesting that Hamas바카라 게임 웹사이트 most extreme faction had taken over, further dimming hopes of a ceasefire deal.
But, following the call from mediators last week to return to talks, Hamas requested a plan to implement the existing offer proposed by President Joe Biden in July, rather than pursuing additional negotiations.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Out 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 Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Hamas said in a statement Sunday.
A regional source familiar with the talks told CNN on Monday that Hamas is planning to attend the diplomatic talks. The organization바카라 게임 웹사이트s mixed messaging comes as each side involved in the negotiations positions itself to try to take advantage and pressure opponents in the run-up to the high-stakes talks.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators have told Israel that Sinwar wants a deal, an Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN. The source said that U.S. officials have made clear to their Israeli counterparts that the time to strike a deal is now, in order to prevent a regional war.
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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Nobody knows what Bibi wants,바카라 게임 웹사이트 one Israeli source said, calling Netanyahu by his nickname.
Netanyahu accused his defense minister Yoav Gallant of adopting an 바카라 게임 웹사이트anti-Israel narrative바카라 게임 웹사이트 following reports in Israeli media about a closed meeting Gallant had with parliament.
Gallant allegedly told lawmakers that last October he had proposed to preemptively attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, that Netanyahu had not supported the strike, and that current conditions for such a strike have now changed. He also allegedly called Netanyahu바카라 게임 웹사이트s 바카라 게임 웹사이트absolute victory바카라 게임 웹사이트 line, a slogan regularly used by the prime minister, 바카라 게임 웹사이트nonsense바카라 게임 웹사이트.
The comments irked Netanyahu, prompting him to issue the statement criticizing the Israeli defense minister. 바카라 게임 웹사이트He should have attacked Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the hostage deal,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Netanyahu said in a written statement.
Gallant responded to the criticism on X, saying: 바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트m determined to meet the goals of the war and to continue the fighting until Hamas is dismantled and the hostages return.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Though not directly addressing his leaked comments, Gallant said leaks from 바카라 게임 웹사이트sensitive and confidential forums바카라 게임 웹사이트 was one of the 바카라 게임 웹사이트weak points that were discovered during the war바카라 게임 웹사이트 and that 바카라 게임 웹사이트we must act against it with all severity.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트We are facing challenging days in which we바카라 게임 웹사이트ll be required to stand firm and take powerful defensive and offensive actions,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Gallant said.