DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

2026-09-29 21:35:14Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

In April 2024, the Middle East was on the verge of an escalation that could directly involve the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Brett McGurk, who at the time was involved in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages, recounts the behind-the-scenes story of that period in an article published on September 28, 2026.

According to him, President Joe Biden's administration faced a situation where hostage negotiations had stalled, fighting in Gaza continued, and attacks by Iranian-backed groups on American forces in the region were increasing.

Hostage negotiations stall

A few months after Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Biden asked McGurk to help negotiate a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages.

A first agreement was reached in November 2023. For seven days, fighting stopped and more than 100 hostages were released, mostly women and children, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, humanitarian aid to Gaza increased.

But the deal collapsed after Hamas refused to release some of the young women it was holding hostage and demanded that negotiations move to other hostages.

On December 1, 2023, after the ceasefire ended, Hamas resumed firing rockets at Israel and Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza.

In February 2024, McGurk traveled to Cairo to resume negotiations. He held meetings with Abbas Kamel, then the head of Egyptian intelligence, which maintained channels of communication with Hamas.

But the parties remained far from an agreement.

Hamas demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, guarantees of a permanent ceasefire, the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and the maintenance of its control over the territory.

Israel, on the other hand, demanded the release of the hostages and refused to allow Hamas to return to the position it had before October 7.

Iran-backed attacks escalate

As negotiations stalled, tensions between the US and Iran were rising.

US forces in Iraq and Syria have faced frequent attacks from Iranian-backed militias. On December 25, 2023, an attack in Iraq wounded three US service members, one of them seriously.

A few days later, the Houthis in Yemen launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea, including American military vessels.

On January 28, 2024, an Iranian-supplied drone struck a compound housing US troops in Jordan. Three US soldiers were killed and dozens more were injured.

Biden then ordered a massive wave of US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Following these strikes, Iranian-backed militias temporarily withdrew.

Në të njëjtën periudhë, McGurk zhvilloi edhe një kanal të fshehtë komunikimi me iranianët në Oman, me synimin për të ulur tensionet. Por përpjekja nuk solli rezultat.

Sulmi izraelit në Damask

Situata ndryshoi në mënyrë dramatike më 1 prill 2024.

Sipas rrëfimit të McGurk, ai ndodhej në Shtëpinë e Bardhë kur zyrtarë izraelitë e informuan se Izraeli do të kryente një sulm ajror në Damask.

Objektivi ishte Mohammad Reza Zahedi, një komandant i lartë iranian përgjegjës për operacionet e grupeve aleate të Teheranit në Siri dhe Liban.

McGurk thotë se kishte pyetur posaçërisht nëse ndërtesa që do të goditej ishte konsullatë iraniane, pasi objektet diplomatike mbrohen nga e drejta ndërkombëtare. Zyrtarët izraelitë i thanë se nuk kishte prova se bëhej fjalë për një konsullatë.

Goditja u krye dhe Zahedi, së bashku me disa bashkëpunëtorë, u vra.

Irani e konsideroi sulmin si një goditje ndaj territorit të tij dhe premtoi hakmarrje.

Në ditët që pasuan, SHBA mori informacione se Irani po përgatiste një sulm të madh ndaj Izraelit, me qindra raketa balistike, raketa kruiz dhe dronë.

Biden urdhëron përforcimin e mbrojtjes së Izraelit

Sipas McGurk, kërkesa izraelite për ndihmë ushtarake amerikane ishte e jashtëzakonshme, pasi përbënte një ndryshim nga parimi tradicional izraelit se vendi duhet të mbrohej vetë.

Biden vendosi të dërgonte forca shtesë amerikane në rajon.

SHBA-ja forcoi sistemet e mbrojtjes ajrore rreth Izraelit, vendosi avionë luftarakë dhe anije ushtarake dhe koordinoi mbrojtjen me një grup vendesh arabe dhe evropiane.

Në të njëjtën kohë, Biden përballej me një dilemë politike. Ai dëshironte të mbështeste Izraelin kundër Iranit, por gjithashtu kërkonte t’i jepte fund luftës në Gaza dhe të rikthente negociatat për pengjet.

Më 4 prill, Biden zhvilloi një telefonatë të tensionuar me kryeministrin izraelit Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sipas McGurk, presidenti amerikan i tha Netanyahu se SHBA-ja do ta ndihmonte Izraelin kundër sulmit iranian, por më pas kërkoi që të punohej menjëherë për përfundimin e luftës dhe lirimin e pengjeve.

13 prilli, nata e sulmit iranian

Më 13 prill, Irani nisi sulmin ndaj Izraelit.

Sipas rrëfimit të McGurk, sulmi filloi me rreth 200 dronë. Rreth 90 minuta më vonë u lëshuan 30 raketa kruiz, ndërsa raketat balistike u nisën më pas.

Koha e fluturimit ishte shumë e ndryshme: dronëve iu duheshin rreth tre orë për të arritur në Izrael, raketave kruiz rreth gjysma e kësaj kohe, ndërsa raketave balistike vetëm rreth 13 minuta.

Qëllimi ishte që të gjitha valët të mbërrinin në të njëjtën kohë, duke mbingarkuar sistemet e mbrojtjes ajrore izraelite.

Në Shtëpinë e Bardhë, Biden ndiqte zhvillimet nga dhoma e situatës së bashku me sekretarin e Mbrojtjes Lloyd Austin, sekretarin e Shtetit Antony Blinken, këshilltarin për Sigurinë Kombëtare Jake Sullivan dhe drejtues të tjerë ushtarakë.

Avionët amerikanë filluan të godisnin dronët iranianë mbi Siri, Irak dhe Arabinë Saudite.

Më pas filloi vala e raketave balistike.

At one point, according to McGurk, there were more than 100 Iranian ballistic missiles in the air.

American-Israeli defense repels attack

American and Israeli air defense systems were activated.

Israeli Arrow interceptor missiles, American ships in the Mediterranean, and Patriot systems were used to neutralize missiles aimed at Israel.

McGurk describes a situation where the situation room screens showed hundreds of missiles and interceptors colliding in the air.

After the attack ended, American and Israeli commanders reported that the defense had worked.

According to the data McGurk describes in his account, no significant hits were confirmed in Israel and only one girl was injured by shrapnel.

For the Biden administration, this was the moment to avoid the next step: an Israeli response that could trigger a direct war between Israel and Iran.

Biden urges Netanyahu not to escalate

After the attack, Biden called Netanyahu.

According to McGurk, the US president urged the Israeli prime minister not to rush into a response and to coordinate any action with the US.

Biden's message was that Israel should consider the repulse of the attack as an important result and not turn it into a new escalation.

Netanyahu, however, was reserved. He said Israel needed to respond to Iran and "teach a lesson" to its adversaries.

Biden insisted that the response be preventive in nature and not escalate the conflict.

The risk of a regional war

According to McGurk, the success of the air defense created an opportunity to stop the direct exchange of attacks between Iran and Israel.

For the first time, the US military, along with European and Arab forces, was directly engaged in defending Israel from a large-scale Iranian attack.

Iran, meanwhile, warned the US not to support Israel. The Iranian mission to the UN issued a direct message: "The US MUST STAY AWAY."

For McGurk, this was an indication that Tehran did not want the clash to escalate into a direct conflict with the US.

The next day, Biden spoke with American pilots and commanders who had participated in the defense of Israel.

In his account, McGurk quotes Biden as saying that it was only thanks to their actions that the region had not entered a major war.

The events of April 2024, according to McGurk's account, show that the clash between Iran and Israel had risked escalating into a much broader conflict, as the US simultaneously tried to protect Israel, limit the military response, and keep diplomatic channels open for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of the hostages.

The Atlantic


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×