Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
Spy chiefs and diplomats from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the US are trying to forge an Israel-Hamas deal to prevent Iran attacking Israel – but Israel and Hamas are blaming each other for adding new conditions and Hamas isn’t at the talks. Its surviving leaders say they want to implement a US ceasefire plan that would guarantee Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza’s Egyptian border, letting refugees return to northern Gaza and ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid. Israel wants to keep control of the border and let only unarmed civilians return to the north. Absent a ceasefire, Iran is threatening to attack Israel in retaliation for killing the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil last month. Hard intelligence on preparations for such an attack is scarce but it would likely be coordinated with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi troops in Yemen, and would benefit from Russia-supplied advanced radars and air-defence equipment.
