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Israel Doesn’t Want Escalation in Gaza

Palestinians burn tires during previous clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border fence between Israel and Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinians burn tires during previous clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border fence between Israel and Gaza. (AFP)
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Israel Doesn’t Want Escalation in Gaza

Palestinians burn tires during previous clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border fence between Israel and Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinians burn tires during previous clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border fence between Israel and Gaza. (AFP)

Tor Wennesland, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has affirmed that there are ongoing international efforts to avoid a security deterioration in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that his government doesn’t want an escalation or fight in the Gaza Strip.

“This evening, it is important that we remind the terrorist elements in Gaza of the real power dynamics between the Israeli army and Hamas and its partners,” the minister said during a commemorative ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the October War.

“We don't want an escalation and we don't want to fight, but if we reach a situation where it is necessary to act, Operation Shield and Arrow should serve as a reminder to any terrorist elements what the capabilities of our security system are," Gallant said.

If Israeli citizens or Israeli army soldiers are harmed, “we will not hesitate to use the full force at our disposal to ensure the safety of our citizens, and to restore peace to the sector," he stressed.

Gallant had participated Wednesday in a consultative meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli army's Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the head of the National Security Council of Israel Tzachi Hanegbi, and a group of officers attended the meeting that discussed expected scenarios of the protests in Gaza.

The intelligence revealed that “Hamas” doesn’t want an escalation, however, Bar stated that the protests increase the possibility of making a mistake that leads to a new escalation round that could be violent.

While the security officials advised Israel to contribute to the calm, they stressed the necessity to be prepared for "a potential escalation".

“The United Nations is talking to and working with all concerned to improve the lives of people in Gaza, particularly the most vulnerable,” Wennesland said Thursday on his X account.

One day after his meeting with “Hamas” officials in Gaza, he added: “The situation inside the Strip is dire and we must avoid another conflict that will have grave consequences for all. The people of Gaza have suffered enough and deserve more than a return to calm.”

Moreover, a regional diplomat said Egypt had stepped up its efforts to prevent a slide into another war, according to Reuters.

The diplomat added that international mediators have stepped up efforts to prevent a new round of armed confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian resistance forces.

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Arab World

US Embassy Compound in Baghdad Hit in Missile Attack as Airstrike Kills 2

US soldiers inspect the damage caused by a bombing in Baghdad, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
US soldiers inspect the damage caused by a bombing in Baghdad, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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US Embassy Compound in Baghdad Hit in Missile Attack as Airstrike Kills 2

US soldiers inspect the damage caused by a bombing in Baghdad, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
US soldiers inspect the damage caused by a bombing in Baghdad, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

The US embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was hit in a missile attack on Saturday, causing smoke to rise from the building, Iraqi security sources said.

They did not have further details on the ‌strike.

Earlier, an airstrike hit a house in Baghdad, killing at least one person, according to a security official and another affiliated with the Iranian-backed armed groups in the country.

The strike in Baghdad’s Karrada district also wounded two people, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.

In a statement, the Iraqi military condemned the strike as “a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and a disregard for international conventions.”

Arab World

Hamas Urges Iran to Stop 'Targeting Neighboring' Countries

FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Hamas fighters stand guard at the site where Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Hamas fighters stand guard at the site where Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
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Hamas Urges Iran to Stop 'Targeting Neighboring' Countries

FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Hamas fighters stand guard at the site where Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Hamas fighters stand guard at the site where Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Hamas on Saturday called on Iran to refrain from targeting neighboring countries, while affirming Tehran's right to defend itself against Israel and the United States.

"While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries," Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas, which fought a devastating two-year war with Israel in Gaza, also called on the international community to "work towards halting" the ongoing war immediately.

The group previously condemned the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war as a "heinous crime", openly acknowledging his longstanding support for the Palestinian movement.

"He provided all forms of political, diplomatic and military support to our people, our cause, and our resistance," the movement said soon after the killing of Khamenei.

Arab World

Ongoing Strikes in Iraq Expose Political, Security Divisions

Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Ongoing Strikes in Iraq Expose Political, Security Divisions

Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's PMF, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Strikes targeting armed groups in Iraq are continuing amid the US-Israel war on Iran, piling pressure on decision-makers in Baghdad to maintain a unified stance even as factions declare their participation in the fighting alongside Tehran.

Over the past two weeks, the Iraqi government has repeatedly called for “distinguishing targets” and avoiding “mixing up the cards,” a reference to the need not to target Iraqi state institutions or official forces. The stance clashes with announcements by prominent armed factions declaring their involvement in military operations supporting Iran.

Those factions include Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya. In statements, they said “collaborators” were providing coordinates to what they described as the “enemy.”

Akram al-Kaabi, leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, said in a statement that recent strikes resulted from information provided by “informants,” without identifying them.

A leader in one of the factions fighting alongside Iran, however, claimed the person in question could be linked to a security agency.

Popular Mobilization sites

According to faction statements, some recent strikes targeted sites linked to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a security institution that includes several brigades affiliated with armed factions.

Observers say strikes on PMF-linked sites, alongside locations belonging to other factions, have created confusion in the political discourse over the nature of the targets and whether the strikes are aimed at specific factions or at an official security structure.

The Iraqi presidency and the prime minister’s office issued statements in recent days stressing the need to avoid dragging Iraq into the regional conflict, while reaffirming their rejection of using Iraqi territory as an arena for settling scores.

Political divisions

At the same time, divisions are widening among the armed factions themselves and between some factions and the government. Analysts say the rifts appear on two levels: military, over the extent of involvement in the war, and political, over the future of power in Baghdad.

Some factions have announced direct participation in military operations. Others have limited themselves to statements of support for Iran, while a third group has remained silent, awaiting developments in the confrontation.

The divisions are also visible within the Coordination Framework alliance, which includes the main Shiite political forces, particularly over the selection of the next prime minister.

Government formation

Iraqi politicians say the regional military escalation is further complicating an already deadlocked political scene, with parties still unable to agree on a new prime minister.

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is the declared candidate of the Coordination Framework alliance. But sources say international objections, including from the United States, are hindering his nomination to form a government.

According to those sources, Maliki has stipulated that if he withdraws from the race, neither the current Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, nor the former Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, should be tasked with forming the government.

Analysts say rising regional tensions could push some political forces to exploit the war to strengthen their negotiating positions inside Iraq, particularly as pressure on Tehran grows, and prospects for regional understandings that previously influenced power arrangements in Baghdad diminish.

Additional complications

The picture is further complicated by ongoing disagreements among Kurdish parties over who should be named the presidential candidate. Under the constitution, the president appoints the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc to form the government.

Observers say delays by Kurdish parties in agreeing on a presidential candidate are effectively obstructing the formation of a new government, while some political forces are using the delay to justify postponing a decision on the premiership.

Tensions have also risen after reports that areas in the Kurdistan region were struck in connection with the escalation between armed factions and their opponents, potentially adding a new dimension to political disputes between Baghdad and Erbil.