Biden says Gaza ceasefire could stop Iran from attacking Israel
- His comments followed Iran’s rejection of Western demands to “step down” from its threat of retaliation.
- When asked if an Israeli-Hamas truce could withstand an Iranian attack, Biden responded, “That’s my expectation.”
Palestinian Territories, Gaza Strip: In response to the killing of a Hamas leader that escalated tensions in the region, US President Joe Biden stated on Tuesday that an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza might prevent Iran from attacking Israel.
His words followed Iran’s rejection of Western demands to “back down” from its threat of retaliation.
Israel has been held accountable by the Islamic republic and its allies for the July 31 killing of Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for the swearing-in of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not offered a statement.
Hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed a senior commander of Hezbollah, the potent militant organization in Lebanon that Iran supports, Iran has vowed to exact revenge.
When asked if an Israeli-Hamas truce could withstand an Iranian attack, Biden responded, “That’s my expectation.”
Even though the talks were “getting hard,” he told reporters in New Orleans that he was “not giving up.”
The Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has already raised tensions in the Middle East, and Western diplomats are working feverishly to avert a major conflagration there.
The United Nations undersecretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, stated that “ten months after the start of the war, the threat of further regional escalation is more palpable, and chilling, than ever.”
“End all escalatory rhetoric and actions,” she urged all parties to say.
The United States and its European allies called on Iran to defuse the situation in a statement released on Monday.
The White House declared that Israel was also of the opinion that this week could see a “significant set of attacks” by Iran and its allies.
In support of Israel, the US has sent a guided missile submarine and an aircraft carrier strike group to the area.Washington authorized the sale of Israel over $20 billion worth of armaments on Tuesday, including approximately 33,000 tank cartridges and F-15 fighter jets.Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, criticized the Western call for moderation.“Iran is being asked to take no deterrent action against a regime that has violated its sovereignty and territorial integrity by the declaration made by France, Germany, and Britain, which raised no objection to the international crimes of the Zionist regime,” the statement read.
Along with calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the United States and its European allies also scheduled a truce conference for this Thursday.1,198 people, primarily civilians, were killed in Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, marking the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Additionally, 251 people were taken prisoner by militants; of these, 111 remain in Gaza, 39 of whom the military claims are deceased.According to a toll from the territory’s health ministry, Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,929 people. The ministry does not break down the number of deaths among civilians and militants.Firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir hammered home the point during a visit to the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem: the far-right parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition vehemently oppose any ceasefire in Gaza.Jordan, the custodian of Al-Aqsa, along with other global powers like the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations, swiftly denounced the visit.
In defiance of long-standing regulations permitting Jews and other non-Muslims to enter the compound but not pray there, Ben Gvir conducted Talmudic rituals. He led thousands of Israelis in singing Jewish hymns.
Ben Gvir reaffirmed his opposition to any truce in the Gaza conflict in a video shot inside the compound.
The minister referred to the truce talks scheduled for Thursday, saying, “We must win and not go to the talks in Doha or Cairo.”
However, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel stated that Washington was still optimistic that negotiations would proceed.
Israel’s participation has already been confirmed by Netanyahu, and Patel told reporters that “our Qatari partners have assured us that they are working to ensure that there is Hamas representation as well.”
Instead of continuing negotiations, Hamas has urged mediators to carry out a truce plan that Biden previously presented.
Even after over a year of fighting in Gaza, Hamas has occasionally been able to launch rockets into Israel.
President Mahmud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Moscow, and the latter expressed his “concern” over civilian casualties in Gaza.
Images on Russian state television purportedly showed Putin calling for the “creation of a fully-fledged Palestinian state” and a ceasefire.
The militants claimed to have launched two rockets at Tel Aviv on Tuesday, marking their first assault on the city in several months.
One rocket from Gaza “did not cross into Israeli territory,” according to the Israeli army, while another fell into the sea.
According to a medic from Nasser Hospital who spoke to AFP under the condition of anonymity, an Israeli strike in Abassan, in the southern district of Khan Yunis, killed two parents and eight children in the most recent Gaza violence.
The sole survivor from the Abu Haya family was a three-month-old girl named Rim, he said.
“This little girl was pulled out of the rubble. Her whole family is dead. Who will take care of her now?” asked Ibrahim Barbakh, a resident of Khan Yunis, as he held the baby.