Efforts underway to link Gaza cease-fire to Iran’s response to Israel
According to various media outlets, the Qatari capital of Doha is the hotspot for talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire deal between the Israeli regime and Hamas. Delegations from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States are in attendance, putting negotiations into high gear. The urgency of a cease-fire was also a hot topic at the UN Security Council session on Wednesday. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, pointed to Israel’s recent strike on the Al-Tabe’een school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood as a stark reminder of why a cease-fire in Gaza is of the essence.
Meanwhile, CNN, quoting an informed Israeli source, reported that US officials have given their Israeli counterparts a heads-up that it’s high time to hammer out an agreement to stave off a regional war.
The reference by American officials to averting a regional war alludes to Iran’s response to Israel following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, in Tehran. In the past few days, after Tehran’s official announcement of the necessity to punish Israel, concerns have grown about a new war in the region or the escalation of the Gaza war. Extensive consultations have also been held by officials from various countries with officials in Tehran to persuade Iran to exercise restraint.
In light of these developments, the European troika—the UK, France, and Germany—issued a joint statement calling on Iran and its allies to lay off any attacks that could ratchet up regional tensions.
Page 8