Iran announces “precise and calculated” response to killing of Hamas leader in Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Italian counterpart that Iran's response to the assassination of Hamas's political chief in Tehran last month would be “inevitable, precise and calculated.”

A statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday, describing a phone call between Araqchi and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, also said Araqchi said Iran did not seek an escalation of tensions but did not fear it either.

Iran blames Israel for the assassination of Hamas politician Ismail Haniyeh, while Israel neither confirms nor denies involvement.

The killing fueled fears that a larger regional conflict could emerge in addition to the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and the daily cross-border fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Araqchi's comments followed an escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday, with both sides launching hundreds of attacks.

“We are dealing Hezbollah surprise, devastating blows,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting. “This is another step towards changing the situation in the north and the safe return of our residents to their homes. And I repeat: This is not the last word.”

Hezbollah described its counterattacks against Israel as the first phase of retaliation for Israel's killing of Fouad Shukur, a Hezbollah commander whom Israel blamed for an attack in Beirut last month that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field. Hezbollah said new attacks would target targets further inland in Israel, but “military operations for today have been concluded.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the stationing of two aircraft carrier battle groups in the Middle East, the Pentagon announced on Sunday. This is intended to strengthen the US military presence in view of regional tensions.

The announcement, which came in a summary of a phone call between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, represents a change of course. The Pentagon had originally sent the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group to the region to replace the Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle group.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown, is currently on a visit to the region that is expected to take him to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

In the Gaza Strip, the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said late Sunday that Israel's evacuation orders “have left hundreds of thousands of displaced people with a so-called 'humanitarian zone' of just 41 square kilometers in which to seek protection.”

The latest evacuation call was for the Deir Al-Balah area in central Gaza, near Al-Aqsa Hospital, where thousands of people have sought shelter amid the war.

Doctors Without Borders said there was an explosion 250 metres from the hospital and that the organisation is now considering stopping wound care.

“All warring parties must respect the hospital and patients’ access to medical care,” the group said in a statement.

Several days of talks to make progress in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas ended on Sunday in Cairo without an agreement.

A senior U.S. official described the talks as “constructive” and said talks with lower-level officials would continue in the coming days to try to resolve outstanding issues.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for months to broker an agreement centered on a multi-stage ceasefire that includes a cessation of hostilities, the release of hostages held by Hamas, the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Some material in this report comes from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.