U.S. stealth warplanes arrive in ME, Gaza truce talks to resume

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) —- Advanced American F-22 stealth warplanes arrived in the Middle East on Thursday, the US military said, as Washington boosts its forces in the region ahead of an expected Iranian counterattack on Israel.

The deployment is part of “force posture changes in the region to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or its proxies,” US Central Command said on social media, without specifying the number or exact location of the planes.

The Pentagon said last week that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered assets including additional warships and a fighter squadron to the region.

Seven American personnel were wounded in a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this week that Washington blamed on an Iran-backed militia group.

And Tehran and its allies are expected to launch an attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of top Hamas and Hezbollah figures in strikes last week either blamed on or claimed by Israel.

The killings are among the most serious in a series of tit-for-tat attacks that have heightened fears of a regional conflagration stemming from the Gaza war.

Truce talks

Meanwhile, Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on 15 August at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.

Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency said Israeli bombardment killed more than 18 people in strikes on two schools on Thursday, as Iran accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East.

After a week-long pause in November, US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have endeavored to secure a second truce in the 10-month-old war sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented 7 October attack on Israel.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the three countries’ leaders invited the warring parties to resume talks on 15 August in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay.”

A framework agreement was “now on the table, with only the details of implementation” left to conclude, and the mediators were “prepared to present a final bridging proposal” to resolve remaining issues, they said.

Netanyahu’s office said later Thursday Israel would send a negotiating team on 15 August “to the agreed place to conclude the details of implementing a deal.”