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[Text/Guocha.net Liu Chenghui] The death of Hamas leader Haniyeh has further heated up the situation in the region. According to Reuters, as Iran vowed to avenge Haniyeh, the US Department of Defense said on August 2 local time that the US military will send more fighter jets and warships to the Middle East to strengthen support for the US military and Israel's defense.

On the other hand, Axios News Network reported on the 2nd, citing two US officials, that US President Biden privately issued a "tough" warning to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the 1st, asking him to stop escalating regional tensions and immediately reach a ceasefire and hostage agreement, otherwise don't expect the United States to provide help again.

The U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement that Defense Secretary Austin has approved the deployment of additional cruisers and anti-ballistic missile-capable ships to the Middle East and Europe.DestroyerThe U.S. military also sent an additionalfighterSquadron.

"Austin has ordered adjustments to the U.S. military posture designed to improve the defense of U.S. forces, increase support for Israel's defense, and ensure the United States is prepared for a variety of contingencies," the statement said.

The statement also mentioned that the US military will speed up preparations for deploying more land-based anti-missile defense systems.

Reuters noted that the U.S. military also stepped up its defenses before Iran attacked Israel with drones and ballistic missiles in April. Even so, Hezbollah in Lebanon poses a unique challenge to U.S. and Israeli defenses because it is adjacent to Israel and has a large arsenal of weapons.

Axios earlier quoted three US officials as saying that the Biden administration is convinced that Iran will launch a large-scale air strike on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Haniyeh. Another source close to Hezbollah in Lebanon said that Iran discussed two response options with members of the "Axis of Resistance" organization.

Faced with the further escalation of the regional situation, Axios reported that Biden and his senior aides were deeply frustrated by the recent attacks in Beirut and Tehran, less than a week after Netanyahu's visit to the United States.

In the eyes of US officials, the deaths of Haniyeh and Lebanese Hezbollah senior official Shukur were nothing, but Netanyahu concealed the attack plan from Biden, and when he visited the US last week, Netanyahu gave the impression that he cared a lot about Biden's request for a ceasefire agreement. After all, this Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire agreement is at the center of the Biden administration's post-war Middle East strategy, and Biden himself personally participated in the process of promoting the negotiations, seeing it as a core element of the remaining six months of his term.

A senior Israeli official revealed that during the meeting between the US and Israeli leaders at the White House last week, Biden was "emotional" and at one point raised his voice to ask Netanyahu to reach an agreement within a week or two. The Israeli official added: "Biden told Netanyahu that the hostages and ceasefire agreement are the most important things at the moment."

But obviously, Haniyeh was attacked and killed shortly after Netanyahu's visit to the United States, and many parties are worried that this will lead to further intensification of the regional situation.

U.S. officials revealed that shortly after Haniyeh was attacked, Biden called Netanyahu on the 1st to discuss the U.S. and Israel's military preparations for potential retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah. Biden also made it clear that he was dissatisfied with the attack carried out by Netanyahu.

A U.S. official said Biden complained to Netanyahu that the two had just spoken in the Oval Office of the White House last week about reaching a ceasefire agreement, but Netanyahu continued to carry out assassination efforts in Tehran.

The official went on to say that Biden then told Netanyahu that the United States would help Israel defeat an Iranian attack, but Biden hoped that Israel would not escalate the situation again and reach a hostage agreement immediately. Biden also warned Netanyahu not to expect the United States to provide help if he escalated the situation again.

According to a statement from the Israeli president’s office, “Prime Minister Netanyahu told President Biden that he was grateful for the United States’ support and that, as Prime Minister of Israel, he acted solely in accordance with Israel’s security needs.”

The White House declined to comment on the news.

"I had a very direct conversation with the (Israeli) prime minister today, very direct," Biden described his call with Netanyahu to reporters on the evening of the 1st.

Biden said there was a basis for a ceasefire and stressed that Netanyahu should "act immediately."

Asked if Haniyeh’s assassination had damaged chances for a deal, Biden said: “It’s not helpful.”

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.