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The US is ready to guarantee that it would allow Israel to restart the genocidal war in Gaza after the first phase of any hostage and ceasefire deal that might be reached with Hamas, according to Israeli media reports.

Hostage deal talks have been stalled since the Israeli killing of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, and it’s unclear when they will resume, but the US and Israel have been discussing potential proposals.

According to The Times of Israel, a proposal that’s been discussed would involve three phases where Israel would halt its military operations and Hamas would release hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a guarantee that he’ll be able to restart military operations after the first phase, which is when negotiations will be held on implementing the next two phases.

The US has not yet provided a written agreement that it would allow Israel to restart operations but has expressed its approval of the idea. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the US wouldn’t give the guarantee in writing until an agreement is reached with Hamas.

The Israeli condition could make Hamas less likely to agree to a deal since one of its main demands has been a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. During previous negotiations, Hamas had agreed to language that was vague enough that Israel could accept without actually committing to a permanent ceasefire. But it’s unclear if Hamas would agree to a deal where Israel gets an explicit guarantee from the US that it could restart military operations.

In the weeks and months leading up to Haniyeh’s assassination, Netanyahu had been working to sabotage the chances of a deal. After Hamas made the concession that it wouldn’t seek a guarantee for a permanent ceasefire upfront, Netanyahu began making new public demands that Mossad Director David Barnea, the Israeli official in charge of the talks, said would thwart an agreement.

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On Wednesday, Arab tribesmen launched a major attack on the US-backed Kurdish SDF in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, and reports say US helicopters helped defend the Kurdish forces.

According to Turkey’s Daily Sabah, the Arab tribes attacked seven villages, including Dhiban, which is only a few kilometers from the al-Omar oil field that houses SDF fighters and US troops.

Local residents told Sputnik that at least three civilians were killed and seven more were injured during the fighting. The SDF and Arab tribes also suffered casualties, but the number is unclear.

The operation was the most significant attack since heavy fighting between the Arab tribes and the SDF broke out in August 2023, which lasted several months.

The SDF said in a statement: “In the late hours of yesterday evening and continuing into this morning, Syrian regime-backed mercenaries and groups of the so-called National Defense Forces launched a ground attack against areas on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, east of Deir Ezzor.”

Al Mayadeen reported that during the clashes, US helicopters used machine guns to target Arab tribesmen along the bank of the Euphrates River in Dhiban. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that US aircraft used machine guns against the western bank of the Euphrates.

In Deir Ezzor, the US and the SDF occupy areas to the east of the Euphrates, and the Syrian government controls the territory on the west side of the river. The US has about 900 US troops in Syria and reportedly reinforced its base at the al-Omar oil field during the clashes.

The attack comes as the region is on edge and expecting an Iranian reprisal attack against Israel for the killing of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran. The US is vowing to defend Israel, and its bases in Syria could also come under attack if Iran’s operation is coordinated with its Shia allies in the region.

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