Tensions are rising following the Haniyeh assassination. US President Joe Biden allegedly asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
According to the news reported by Israeli Channel 12 Television, citing two unnamed US officials, Biden called Netanyahu and said the prisoner swap agreement was the most important thing to do at the moment.
During the meeting, which was said to have been difficult and in which Biden adopted a tough tone, Biden asked Netanyahu to avoid escalating tensions in the region and instead work towards a prisoner swap agreement and a ceasefire in Gaza.
The parties also discussed military preparations for possible retaliation from Iran in response to the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh.
HAMAS LEADER HANİYE ASSASSINATION IN IRAN
Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
In a statement made in the early hours of July 31, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that an attack was carried out on Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran.
While Iran and the Hamas Movement hold Israel responsible for the assassination, Israeli officials have refrained from making a statement about the incident.
Haniyeh was elected as the head of the Hamas Political Bureau by the Hamas Shura Council on May 6, 2017, replacing Khaled Meshaal.