US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has sent two top Middle East officials to the region amid speculation that Iran will soon retaliate for the killing of Hamas’ former top political leader last month in Tehran.
“We have been working diplomatically and militarily to prevent further escalation by Iran and its proxies against Israel and to support de-escalation of the borders in the region,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday (8/13).
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan directed Biden’s Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, and his special envoy, Amos Hochstein, to travel to the region.
McGurk will visit Cairo before heading to Doha, Qatar, where ceasefire talks are scheduled to begin Thursday. Hochstein was sent to Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
“The best way to push for a resolution is to do it diplomatically. That’s what you’ve seen from the efforts that the president has made, of course, in the last few weeks,” Jean-Pierre said.
“Now, you see his team will be in the region to continue this diplomatic effort,” he said. “And we will continue to work on the hostage agreement and the ceasefire. We believe that is the best way to continue to work on the de-escalation of the tensions that are happening in the Middle East.”
Read also: Palestinian President: Iran Will Retaliate Against Israel in a Few Hours
Hamas and Iran accuse Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Iranian territory. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the killing.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group is also expected to retaliate after Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern outskirts on July 30. Shukr was killed hours before Haniyeh, raising tensions in the region and raising the prospect of a wider war.
The incidents come amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians in a 10-month-long massacre.
Meanwhile, a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 killed 1,139 people. (Ant/Z-2)
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