The White House expressed concern on Wednesday about the increased risk of an escalation in the Middle East after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran was followed by threats of retaliation against Israel.
However, speaking to reporters at a press conference, White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said Washington does not see an all-out conflict in the region as inevitable and is working to prevent one.
He said the US still believes there is a possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement to end more than nine months of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, despite concerns that those efforts have taken a serious blow.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Hamas leader Haniyeh, who had taken part in internationally brokered talks to reach a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
The Revolutionary Guards said the killing happened hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for Iran's new president.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government did not mention the killing in a televised statement Wednesday night, but said Israel had dealt crushing blows to Iran's proxies recently, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and would respond with force to any attack.
The killing came less than 24 hours after Israel said it had killed Hezbollah's top military commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut in retaliation for a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
