Could the conflagration spread beyond the Middle East? Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he expected his allies to “join Israel” to “attack Iran” if the Islamic Republic attacked his country, while hosting his French and British counterparts.
“Israel expects France and the UK to make it clear and public to Iran that it is forbidden to attack Israel and that if Iran attacks, the US-led coalition will join Israel, not only to defend it but also to attack important targets in Iran,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
“Inappropriate”
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné – visiting Israel this Friday – considered it “inappropriate to talk about a response and preparation of an Israeli response, even defensive, while we are working towards a diplomatic agreement.”
“Diplomacy must work now, diplomatic discussions must work now and we are working to avoid this Iranian response,” he insisted, while Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran said they were “obliged” to respond after the assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, attributed to Israel, and of Hezbollah’s military leader in an Israeli strike.
While for months, the international community has been worried about a regional spillover of the conflict, Stéphane Séjourné said he wanted to “send very, very clear messages to the Israelis, Hezbollah and also to the Iranian side to avoid escalation in the region.” “We have sent messages to those who are discussing today in Doha, with the aim of ensuring that there is a sincere commitment to the negotiations to finally obtain a ceasefire and a negotiation on the hostages,” he added.
40,000 dead
Negotiations began Thursday in Doha at the call of the mediators – Qatar, the United States and Egypt – to reach an agreement for a ceasefire accompanied by the release of the hostages taken by Hamas in the Palestinian territory where Israel and the Islamist movement have been at war for more than ten months. “We are in a moment and in a few days that are key in this conflict that has lasted too long,” the French minister insisted.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. At least 40,005 Palestinians were killed in Israeli reprisals, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry in Gaza, which did not provide details on the number of civilians and fighters killed.