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Gaza continues as Iran talks
While Trump said he canceled planned strikes on Iran, Israeli attacks on Gaza continued, with the Israeli military saying it killed two Hamas commanders with air strikes on Friday and Saturday in Gaza.
“Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued.”
The Middle East Eye report said the Israeli strikes killed nine Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including three children, citing Al Jazeera Arabic.
It also said the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza put the death toll at 73,356 people since October 2023.
In the same report, a Hamas delegation met officials from Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Cairo on Sunday, with the groups stressing the need to force Israel to end its military offensive and fully withdraw from Gaza.
The report added that the groups called for "developing joint action and unified national positions, and exerting all efforts to protect the Palestinian people and restore their legitimate rights."
Trump’s halt and Iran’s denial
Trump said he would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly on Iran’s nuclear programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz completely, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had informed Turkish, Pakistani and Saudi counterparts that Iran would act "decisively" in the event of any further US "aggression".
The Guardian reported that hopes of a breakthrough faded on Sunday when Iran’s Mehr news agency said Trump’s claim that Tehran had requested a pause "was nothing but a new lie" and that Iranian armed forces were "on high alert and ready for any eventuality."
The Guardian also quoted Iran’s acting defence minister, Majid Ebn-e-Reza, saying Trump had backed down "within the context of psychological operations and a war of calculations."
In the same Guardian account, Trump’s reversal was tied to requests from Iran and other countries in the region and to his Truth Social post that the deal would include the immediate and complete reopening of the strait and "an end to Iran’s nuclear threat."
Readiness, deterrence, and stakes
As the standoff over Iran continued, the Guardian said mediators were trying to revive an agreement brokered by Pakistan in June, and it described Iran’s position that the strait would remain closed if the US "maintains its hostile actions."
“"With or without an agreement"”
The Guardian also reported that Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister, said there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the US and that "With or without an agreement" Israel would act if Iran renewed its nuclear programme or advanced its ballistic missile industries.
In the Middle East Eye account, it said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force targeted the US F-35 repair hangar and ramp at Al-Azraq Base in Jordan with multiple ballistic missiles on Saturday.
The same report said Iran’s forces were at the highest level of readiness and that if fighting took place it would be "decisive" and show who holds the real power.
It added that Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas representative, told Reuters on Friday that Hamas would retain its weapons until Israel halted its attacks, allowed more aid and goods into Gaza, and withdrew its forces.
