"Israel" persists in its military assault on Gaza, leading to the killing of over 26,000 Palestinians and exacerbating a severe humanitarian crisis. Simultaneously, tensions are escalating in other areas linked to the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Despite the White House's attempts to keep a rein on "Israel", events on the ground in the Middle East are heading in the opposite direction. 

That's the take offered by The Washington Post's Ishaan Tharoor, who argued that "flash points are erupting elsewhere in the shadow of the ongoing war."

Currently, "Israel" has carried out attacks in Lebanon and Syria, with a recent strike reported south of Damascus resulting in casualties. Meanwhile, the US is carrying out bombing campaigns against Yemen.

The most immediate challenge facing Washington is a drone attack claimed by the Iraqi Resistance, Tharoor said.

The attack occurred at the end of the weekend, resulting in the death of three US troops and injuries to at least 40 others at a base along the Jordanian border with Syria. The Iraqi Resistance has carried out at least 160 attacks on US military targets in both Iraq and Syria in support of Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Simultaneously, the US has conducted numerous strikes. Currently, there are approximately 2,500 US military personnel stationed in Iraq and about 900 US occupation forces in Syria.

Regarding the attack, US President Joe Biden said in a statement, “And have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.” 

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"We are seeing that the situation is boiling up here and there, and everyone, unfortunately, is dancing at the edge,” Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a visit to Washington.

He further added that ongoing ramifications from the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza are expected to destabilize regional security and pose a potential threat to the delicate indirect negotiations between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance, noting that Qatar is actively involved in mediating these talks, which aim to address the issue of Israeli captives.

Tharoor further highlighted that hawkish Republicans are calling for an escalation against Iran to the extent that some lawmakers want the US to attack Iran within its territory.

The Biden administration faces a delicate balancing act, navigating the challenges of domestic politics on one front and the volatile dynamics of the Middle East on the other, he contended.

While there is a reluctance to escalate tensions with Iran or widen the war in the region, the administration emphasizes the necessity of taking required actions, as expressed by National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Monday.

On his account, Paul Salem, head of the Middle East Institute think tank, said as quoted by The Washington Post that “the US will definitely respond to this latest Iranian-backed attack — as it should. But Washington should choose the extent and timing of that response according to its own strategic priorities, not out of the news-cycle urgency of a social media-driven political need for a knee-jerk reaction.”

Tharoor further mentioned that the stakes are undeniably significant. A direct confrontation between US and Iranian forces would probably hinder the prospects of achieving a ceasefire between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance.

“It would almost certainly trigger an all-out Hezbollah attack on Israel. It could turn local firefights into raging infernos in Iraq and Syria, and destabilize friendly regimes in Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf,” observed The Guardian’s Simon Tisdall, as cited by The Washington Post.

But that's not the end of it. “An open-ended US-Iran confrontation would divide, perhaps permanently, the western democracies between those, such as the UK, that would back Washington, and those, such as France, Germany and Italy, that might sensibly prioritize renewed diplomatic outreach to Tehran,” he added. 

Read more: Joe Biden ignited what could be a regional war in MENA: The Guardian