In the operation that is now expected, Iranian proxy groups in Iraq and Syria could attack US bases in eastern Syria, wrote the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW). According to local media reports, militias loyal to Iran have moved troops and rocket launchers from Iraq to Syria, near the US bases. Tehran’s calculation could be that attacks on the US bases in Syria will tie up American defense capacities that would otherwise be used to defend Israel.
US President Joe Biden and other government members of Israel’s most important ally see the key to de-escalation in a ceasefire agreement for the Gaza war, which has been going on for almost ten months. However, the indirect negotiations for this, in which the US, Egypt and Qatar are mediating, are not making any progress. These are also expected to lead to the release of around 100 hostages still held by Hamas. The latest round of talks with Israeli and Egyptian participants on Saturday in Cairo brought no progress, Israeli media reported.
The mediators, but also Netanyahu’s closest associates, see the Israeli head of government’s blockade stance as the reason for the standstill in the talks. Channel 12 and the well-connected journalist Barak Ravid reported on a heated meeting between the prime minister and his negotiators last Wednesday, in which there were apparently shouting matches.
Ronen Bar, the head of the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, is said to have confronted Netanyahu, asking him to say openly if he did not want a deal. Netanyahu is said to have then insulted his employees as “cowards” who were working for the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar.
Protesters who are pushing for an agreement to release the hostages keep accusing Netanyahu of blocking a Gaza agreement. Thousands of people also demonstrated on Saturday in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other Israeli cities. According to the Times of Israel, former diplomat Eran Etzion said at a rally in Jerusalem that the deal was on the table, but that Netanyahu was blocking it “for political, personal and criminal reasons.”
