Unpredictable developments continue in the Middle East

Fear the gates of hell

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on February 12 to discuss ways to end the crisis in the Gaza Strip, according to The Guardian . Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas member, said there were positive signs that the hostage exchange would take place as planned on February 15. However, Mardawi added that Hamas had not received an official commitment from Israel to fully implement the terms of the agreement, especially the humanitarian issue.

Palestinians amid devastation in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on February 11

The al-Araby al-Jadeed news site quoted Egyptian officials as saying that things were heading towards a "breakthrough" in the hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel. Israel's Channel 12 reported on February 13 that Israel would allow international organizations to increase the amount of aid into Gaza to facilitate the hostage exchange process with Hamas.

However, AP quoted Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on February 12 warning that Hamas would face the "gates of hell" if it did not release the hostages on time, and said the new war would be more severe in both intensity and scale. Israel admitted to carrying out an airstrike in Rafah City (Gaza) on February 12, and confirmed that it was deploying many soldiers and tanks around Gaza.

Israel mobilizes reserves, Gaza residents fear

Will Israel attack Iran?

Israel is likely to seek to attack Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities in the middle of this year, The Washington Post reported on February 12, citing a report by US intelligence agencies under the administration of former US President Joe Biden. The information was revealed after recent comments by US President Donald Trump that he would rather reach a deal with Iran over its nuclear program than have Israel attack Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

Palestinians move to the center of the Gaza Strip on February 10.

US military intelligence has outlined two scenarios for a potential Israeli attack, with Washington providing support in the form of aerial refueling and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to Tel Aviv. In the first scenario, Israel would attack Iran’s nuclear facilities from outside its air defenses with ballistic missiles launched from fighter jets. In the second scenario, Israeli fighter jets would penetrate Iranian airspace, fly close to the nuclear sites and drop BLU-109 bunker-buster bombs.

Trump: US won't buy but 'there will be Gaza'

Last week, the Trump administration approved the sale to Israel of guidance systems for bunker-busting bombs. Yesterday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that enemies can attack Iran’s nuclear facilities but cannot stop Tehran from building new ones, according to Reuters.

Lebanon urges US to pressure Israel to withdraw troops

Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam condemned the Israeli military for deploying fighter jets over Beirut on February 12, and called on the US to pressure the Israeli government to withdraw its troops completely from Lebanese territory by February 18. Israel and the US have not commented on the information. Kan Public Radio (Israel) quoted senior Tel Aviv officials as saying that the US had "allowed the Israeli military to remain in some locations" in Lebanon after February 18. In another development, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from February 15 to 18, according to Reuters.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lien-tiep-dien-bien-kho-luong-o-trung-dong-185250213223110858.htm