News analysis
Israel-Hamas war upends Biden's two-pronged Mideast strategy
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US President Joe Biden has also had to fend off Republican criticism of last month’s prisoner swap with Iran.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - Until last weekend, the Biden administration was counting on the Middle East to remain relatively calm while it quietly pursued its main policy goals there: brokering Israeli-Saudi detente and containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Those hopes were shattered when Palestinian Hamas militants infiltrated from Gaza and rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday, killing hundreds and abducting scores more. Israeli forces have retaliated by pounding the coastal enclave, killing hundreds and imposing a total blockade there.
