US President Joe Biden then insisted on a de-escalation of the spiral of violence consisting of constant attacks and counterattacks. “I hope this is the end,” he told reporters in Pennsylvania state. He spoke to representatives of the secret services and learned that Israel’s attacks appeared to be limited to military targets. Biden also confirmed media reports that he had been informed in advance about Israel’s attacks. The United States remains Israel’s most important ally, despite significant disagreements between both governments.
According to the Iranian military, the Israeli fighter jets did not enter the airspace of the Islamic Republic during the attack. Rather, Israel’s air force fired air-launched long-range missiles from the Iraqi border area at targets in Iran. Radar stations were hit, according to a statement from the General Staff that was distributed by state media. The damage was “limited and minor”. This information could not initially be independently verified.
The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to an appropriate response at an appropriate time, the Armed Forces General Staff said. In the statement, Iran’s military also emphasized the need for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon “to prevent the killing of vulnerable and oppressed people.”
Since the killing of Hamas leader Jihia al-Sinwar in the Gaza Strip in mid-October, negotiators in the region have had a little more hope of restarting ceasefire negotiations. The head of the Israeli foreign secret service Mossad, David Barnea, is traveling to Doha today. Israel is demanding the release of the approximately 100 hostages still held in Gaza, many of whom are believed to no longer be alive.
According to Israeli media reports, an official from Barnea’s negotiating team is said to have told the relatives of the abductees that a hostage agreement would require an end to the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip – which is currently not foreseeable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet given his own negotiating delegation a sufficient mandate to lead today’s talks in Doha to a substantial result.
At a rally in Tel Aviv, speakers sharply attacked Netanyahu and accused him of delaying the indirect negotiations. “Who do you want to blame now that Sinwar is dead? The hostages?” the Times of Israel quoted the brother of a Hamas hostage as criticizing.