Israel and the United States are preparing for a potential Iranian attack on Israel as efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza intensify, with talks set to resume this week amid intense diplomacy to avert a wider regional war.

Mediators have urged Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table in a renewed push to strike a ceasefire deal after the talks risked being derailed by the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders which Iran and its Lebanese proxy have vowed to avenge.

Negotiations are set to resume in the Egyptian capital Cairo or the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday. Last week, the United States, Egypt and Qatar – key mediators in talks between Israel and Hamas – said they will use the meeting to present a “final bridging proposal” and urged both sides to attend.

A major Iranian attack reprisal against Israel could risk derailing the ceasefire talks that US officials have said were at an advanced stage prior to the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran blamed on Israel. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied responsibility.

In a joint statement Sunday evening, France, Germany and the United Kingdom endorsed the calls for the warring parties to strike a deal, saying “there can be no further delay” given the simmering threat of a regional conflagration.

Whether the talks will proceed however is uncertain. Israel said it will send a delegation to the Thursday talks, but Hamas hasn’t confirmed attendance, even if has signaled that it still wants a deal.

Following Haniyeh’s assassination, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Haniyeh’s death would “not pass in vain,” and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “blood vengeance” for the killing is “certain.”

There have been some indications that Iran may abandon plans to attack Israel if a ceasefire deal is reached. But the country’s mission to the United Nations said on Saturday that Tehran’s retaliation to Israel’s suspected killing of Haniyeh is “totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire,” adding that it has a right to self-defense.

The US and Israel continued preparations for that scenario over the weekend. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided missile submarine, the USS Georgia, to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region, the Pentagon said Sunday evening. The US also released $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on US weapons and military equipment, months after it was appropriated by Congress. And on Monday, the Israeli military suspended vacation flights for permanent personnel in anticipation of an attack.

Iran’s UN mission said it hopes that its attack on Israel “will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire.”

“Direct and intermediary official channels to exchange messages have always existed between Iran and the United States, the details of which both parties prefer to remain untold,” it added.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah – the Iran-backed militant group in southern Lebanon – fired a barrage of about 30 rockets toward northern Israel Sunday night. Although rocket fire toward Israel from Lebanon has become a near-daily occurrence since the outbreak of war in Gaza, Israeli officials fear a larger-scale response from Hezbollah after the assassination of the group’s top military commander Fu’ad Shukr in a Beirut suburb last month

But as the world watched Iranian airspace and the Israel-Lebanon border, the worst of the weekend’s fighting was again confined to the Gaza Strip, as an Israeli strike on a mosque and school in Gaza City killed at least 93 Palestinians on Saturday, according to local officials.

With the number of Palestinians killed during 10 months of war edging closer to 40,000, Israel’s strike sparked global condemnation. Qatar and Egypt condemned the strike, calling it a violation of international law, and the US National Security Council said the White House was “deeply concerned” about reports of civilian casualties.” In the aftermath, the three mediators renewed their calls for the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire deal.

Although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted a Hamas command post and killed several fighters, the strike was a reminder that, despite its earlier claims to have dismantled Hamas in the north of the Strip, the militant group has reassembled in areas previously deemed clear.

Renewed talks

After Haniyeh’s assassination, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar – its leader in Gaza and one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel – as the new head of its political bureau, suggesting that Hamas’ most extreme faction had taken over, further dimming hopes of a ceasefire deal.

But, following the call from mediators last week to return to talks, Hamas requested a plan to implement the existing offer proposed by US President Joe Biden in July, rather than pursuing additional negotiations.

“Out of concern and responsibility towards our people and their interests, the movement demands the mediators to present a plan to implement what they presented to the movement and agreed upon on July 2, 2024, based on Biden’s vision and the UN Security Council resolution, and to compel the occupation (Israel) to do so, instead of going for further negotiation rounds or new proposals,” Hamas said in a statement Sunday.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators have told Israel that Sinwar wants a deal, an Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN. The source said that US officials have made clear to their Israeli counterparts that the time to strike a deal is now, in order to prevent a regional war.

But, despite growing pressure at home to help bring the hostages home, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stymied attempts to reach an agreement.

“Nobody knows what Bibi wants,” one Israeli source said, calling Netanyahu by his nickname.

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Hamas says Gaza truce talks must be based on Biden plan

Hamas has said that any resumption of ceasefire talks about the conflict in Gaza should be based on previous plans rather than holding new rounds of negotiations.

Last week, international mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the US urged Israel and Hamas to attend negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal on 15 August.

Israel responded on Thursday, saying it would send a team of negotiators to take part in the meeting.

Negotiations faltered last month, after new terms were introduced to the framework presented by US President Joe Biden in May.

In a joint statement last week, mediators said talks could take place on 15 August in Doha or Cairo.

It called on Israel and Hamas "to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay".

It said a "framework agreement" based on “principles” previously outlined by Mr Biden on 31 May was ready - which proposed a deal that would start with a full ceasefire and the release of a number of hostages.

In a statement, Hamas responded to pressure from mediators by calling for a plan to be drawn up based on Mr Biden's "vision" from May - essentially agreeing to resume negotiations from the point where they stopped rather than on any new initiative.

"The mediators should enforce this on the occupation (Israel) instead of pursuing further rounds of negotiations or new proposals that would provide cover for the occupation's aggression and grant it more time to continue its genocide against our people," the Hamas statement said.

Sources told the BBC that the introduction of new Israeli conditions - that displaced Palestinians should be screened as they return to the north of Gaza, as well as the question of control of the Philadelphi corridor that borders Egypt - had been sticking points.

The BBC understands that Hamas is open to resuming talks at the point prior to which the new conditions were introduced.

Recent fighting in Gaza and the killings of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh and a senior Hezbollah commander have risked escalating tensions across the region.

On Sunday, the Israeli military ordered thousands of Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, to relocate to what it has designated "humanitarian zones".

The relocation order followed an Israeli air strike against a school building in Gaza on Saturday, which killed more than 70 people according to a local hospital director.

Fadl Naeem, head of al-Ahli Hospital where many of the casualties were taken, said around 70 victims were identified in the hours after the strike - with the remains of many others so badly disfigured that identification was difficult.

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the school "served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility", which Hamas denies.

IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said “various intelligence indications” suggest a “high probability” that the commander of Islamic Jihad’s Central Camps Brigade, Ashraf Juda, was at al-Taba’een school school when it was struck.

He said it is not yet clear whether the commander was killed in the attack.

The BBC cannot independently verify casualty figures from either side.

The air strike has been criticised by Western and regional powers, with Egypt saying it showed Israel had no desire to reach a ceasefire or end the Gaza war.

Israel claims that Hamas is using civilian infrastructure to plan and carry out attacks, and that is why it has been targeting hospitals and schools - sites protected under international law.

Hamas has consistently denied the accusations.

Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in an attack on Israel on 7 October, taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.

That attack triggered a massive Israeli military offensive against Gaza and the current war.

More than 39,790 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli campaign, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

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Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel as threat of Iran attack looms

Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets toward northern Israel on Sunday night, as Israeli forces remain on high alert for potential retaliation from Iran and its proxies following the assassination of a top Hamas leader last month.

Rocket fire toward Israel by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon has become a near-daily occurrence since the outbreak of war in Gaza, as fears grow over the possibility of an Iranian attack that could escalate into a wider regional conflict.

The latest Hezbollah salvo was fired in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and in retaliation for Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, the militant group said in a statement. It comes after Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the town of Ma’aroub, southern Lebanon, injured 12 people including six children.

About 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, adding that some fell into open areas and no injuries were reported.

Earlier Sunday, the IDF said its instructions to the public had not changed amid a possible military response from Iranian forces to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

“The IDF and the security establishment monitor our enemies and the developments in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran and Hezbollah, and constantly assess the situation,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. “IDF forces are deployed and prepared in high readiness. If it becomes necessary to change the instructions, we will update about it in an orderly message on the official channels.”

Mediators in ceasefire-hostage talks between Israel and Hamas are making a renewed push to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table this week, as concerns grow that the conflict could spiral into a regional war.

On Sunday, CNN Political and Foreign Policy Analyst Barak Ravid reported that according to two sources, Israeli intelligence assessed Iranian forces could be planning an attack “within days, even before the August 15 hostage deal talks.”

A source privy to the details told Ravid the situation is “still fluid” and the internal debate in Iran continues. It is possible Iranian decision-making will still change.

Austin has ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday evening.

The announcement came in a readout of a call between the defense secretary and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

Ravid also reported that a source with knowledge of the call said Gallant told Austin that Iranian military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack.

As the threat of an attack from Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah looms, the leaders of the United States, Qatar and Egypt said Thursday they may present what they called a “final bridging proposal” this week, urging Israel and Hamas to conclude a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel will send a delegation to the talks.

An Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN over the weekend that Egyptian and Qatari mediators have conveyed to Israeli officials in recent days Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants a ceasefire deal.

Hamas said Sunday it has asked mediators to implement a ceasefire plan based on previous talks such as those put forward by US President Joe Biden and the UN Security Council in July.

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German Foreign Office urges Gaza ceasefire after 'terrible' strike

The German Foreign Office on Sunday again called for a ceasefire in Gaza, one day after an Israeli airstrike on a school in the territory reportedly killed dozens of civilians.

"The reports from Gaza are terrible. The killing of civilians seeking protection is unacceptable. The repeated attacks on schools by the Israeli army must stop and be investigated quickly," the ministry wrote on the social media platform X.

"The entire region urgently needs the humanitarian ceasefire proposed by the US, Egypt and Qatar and the release of the hostages. This opportunity to alleviate the suffering must now be seized as a matter of urgency," the ministry added.

It also criticized the Palestinian militant group Hamas for using civilians as human shields.

The Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza said at least 93 people were killed in Saturday's strike in Gaza City, which Israel said targeted Hamas commanders.

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Hezbollah accuses Israel of 'lies and deception' after Gaza strike

The Lebanese Hezbollah militia has accused Israel of "lies and deception" following its strike on a school in Gaza City which Palestinian authorities said killed up to 100 people.

"The speeches about a ceasefire and new dates for negotiations are nothing but lies and deception," Hezbollah said. Israel's "real choice is to kill and carry out massacres," it added.

The militia said Palestinians have been subjected to the "most heinous massacre for more than 10 months," since the current conflict in Gaza began.

Israel said the building it hit in Gaza City on Saturday "served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders."

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the border for months.

Fears of a major escalation have grown since Israel assassinated a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut following a strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights which killed 12 children.

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