KATHMANDU: In the face of growing worries about a wider regional battle including Iran and its supporters, the Biden administration is stressing that a cease-fire in Gaza is imminent. In line with President Biden's statement, U.S. officials have stated that the negotiations facilitated by Qatar are nearing their conclusion. A spokesman for the State Department, Matthew Miller, expressed optimism that a framework for an agreement is almost complete.
This optimism, meanwhile, is at odds with rising tensions in the region. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, was recently killed in Tehran, and Iran has pledged to exact revenge. It is commonly thought that Israel was behind the murder. Former US Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller noted that this episode has increased concerns of a big regional conflict.
An Israeli airstrike killed a major Hezbollah commander in Beirut, and Israel is now prepared for possible Hezbollah retaliation in southern Lebanon. It is believed that Hezbollah will respond with force, thereby exacerbating the situation. Furthermore, there has been a return of instability, with Iranian-backed militias attacking American military posts in Syria and Iraq.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas will be under pressure to accept advantageous terms for a cease-fire as a result of recent killings. But Biden has attacked Netanyahu, saying that his actions make it more difficult to achieve a truce. The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has urged all sides to put an end to their escalating measures and concentrate on coming to a consensus.
President Biden has been quite diplomatic in his response to the heightened tensions, holding talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II and sending more US military personnel to the area. According to Laura Blumenfeld from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the deployment of F-22A Raptors represents a potent deterrent message intended to avoid further escalation.
