Analysts fear Iran could attack Israel in as little as two days in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas chief in Tehran.
Desperate talks are underway to stop all-out war in the Middle East after negotiations to end Israel ’s onslaught in Gaza failed.
Analysts fear Iran could attack in as little as two days in retaliation for Israel killing a Hamas chief in Tehran. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make a last-ditch peace bid in a meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. A fresh push for an end to the Gaza war launched this week in Qatar as the death toll there topped 40,000.
Fears are sky-high that Iran – along with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon – will attack Israel amid the mounting human cost. The escalation follows last month’s suspected Mossad blast which killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. An attack hours earlier killed Hezbollah senior man Fuad Shukr.
Relatives of Palestinian children, who lost their lives following the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp, carry the bodies to hospital ( Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
US security spokesman John Kirby said Iran has made preparations to attack with little to no warning. He said earlier this week: “We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here, could be this week.”
Mediators hope a deal involving the release of Israeli hostages, a prisoner swap and ceasefire will ease tensions. On Thursday, the US, Qatar and Egypt began a new round of ceasefire talks. Hamas, which did not participate directly, accuses Israel of adding new demands to a previous US-supported proposal.
A Palestinian stands in his home the morning after it was torched in a rampage by Israeli settlers ( Image: AP)
Ceasefire
Gaza’s war began when Hamas stormed the Israeli border on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250 to Gaza. More than 100 were released during a November ceasefire and around 110 are believed to be alive in Gaza. Mediators have spent months hammering out a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Both sides have agreed in principle to the plan which President Joe Biden announced on May 31. But Hamas has proposed amendments and Israel has suggested clarifications, leading each side to accuse the other of trying to tank a deal. Hamas rejected Israel’s demands for a lasting military presence along the southern border with Egypt and a line bisecting Gaza where Palestinians would be stopped and searched.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters ( Image: Getty Images)
