WILMINGTON, Del./RAMALLAH — US President Joseph R. Biden expressed hope Iran would stand down despite its threat to avenge the assassination of Hamas’ leader in Tehran, as fears mounted that Israel’s war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.

Regional tensions have soared following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ top leader, on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Mr. Haniyeh’s killing, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility.

Asked by reporters whether Iran would stand down, Mr. Biden said on Saturday in response to a shouted question, “I hope so. I don’t know.”

Seeking to bolster defenses in the Middle East in response to threats from Israel’s foes, the Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

Mr. Haniyeh’s death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the Gaza war nears its 11^th month, and it fueled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

Hamas said it had begun a “broad consultation process” to choose a new leader three days after the assassination of Mr. Haniyeh, who was the face of the group’s international diplomacy.

The US and international partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt continued diplomatic contacts on Saturday seeking to prevent further regional escalation.

The US urged its citizens who wish to leave Lebanon to start making plans immediately, and the British government advised its nationals to “leave now.” Canada warned citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, saying the regional armed conflict endangered security.

VIOLENCE IN GAZA AND WEST BANK
Violence continued on Saturday in the Palestinian territories.

An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza City killed at least 15 Palestinians on Saturday, hours after two strikes in the occupied West Bank killed nine militants including a local Hamas commander, Hamas said.

The Israeli military said the first of two West Bank airstrikes hit a vehicle in a town near the city of Tulkarm, targeting a militant cell it said was on its way to carry out an attack.

A Hamas statement said one of those killed was a commander of its Tulkarm brigades, while its ally Islamic Jihad claimed the other four men who died in the strike as its fighters.

Hours later, a second airstrike in the area targeted another group of militants who had fired on troops, Israel’s military said, during what it described as a counterterrorism operation in Tulkarm.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said four people had died in that strike, and Hamas said all nine of those killed in the two Israeli attacks in the West Bank were fighters.

At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials. The offensive was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted, according to Israeli tallies.

A high-level Israeli delegation made a brief visit to Cairo on Saturday in an attempt to resume Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian airport authority sources said. The Israeli officials returned to Israel hours later, Israeli media said.

Chances of a breakthrough appear low following the latest incidents in Lebanon and Iran.

Israel has not said whether or not it was behind Mr. Haniyeh’s assassination. But Mr. Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran’s proxies of late, including Hamas and Hezbollah. — Reuters

LIVERPOOL, England/BELFAST — Violent disorder swept across several British cities on Saturday, injuring police and damaging property in the most widespread rioting in the country for 13 years, following the murder of three young girls in northwest England.

Riots involving hundreds of anti-immigration protesters have erupted in towns and cities after false information spread rapidly on social media that the suspect in Monday’s knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport was a radical Muslim migrant.

Police have said the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, 17, was born in Britain but protests by anti-immigration and anti-Muslim demonstrators have continued, descending into violence, arson and looting.

Violent disorder erupted in Liverpool, Bristol, Hull and Belfast — four cities located in different corners of the United Kingdom — with scuffles breaking out and bricks and bottles thrown as anti-immigration protesters faced groups opposed to racism. Many police officers suffered injuries as they tried to keep several hundred rival protesters — largely young men who were chanting slogans — from clashing.

In Liverpool, two officers were in hospital with suspected facial fractures while another was pushed from his motorbike and assaulted in the disorder involving some 750 protesters and a similar number of rival protesters, Merseyside Police, the force overseeing the northwestern city, said.

At least two shops in Liverpool were vandalized and looted, police added.

Similar scenes were witnessed in the southwestern city of Bristol although anti-racist protesters outnumbered anti-immigration groups, with TV footage showing them facing off with police in riot gear.

In Belfast, some businesses reported damage to property while at least one was set on fire, according to police.

“I have no reason why they attacked us,” said Rahmi Akyol, standing outside the shattered glass doors of his cafe in Belfast, which he said was attacked by dozens of people with bottles and chairs.

“I’ve lived here 35 years. My kids, my wife is from here. I don’t know what to say, it’s terrible,” he said.

Across Britain, police have arrested dozens of individuals for offences ranging from violent disorder to burglary and criminal damage.

Extra police have been deployed across cities while mosques across the country have been advised to strengthen security following an attack on a mosque in Southport on Tuesday.

‘UNFORGIVABLE VIOLENCE’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, facing his first big test since his election a month ago, has condemned the “far-right” for the wave of violence and backed police to take strong action. He discussed the disorder with senior ministers on Saturday, his office said.

The last time riots erupted in Britain was in 2011 when a much larger outbreak of violence took hold, with thousands of people taking to the streets for five nights after police shot dead a Black man in London.

On Friday night, hundreds of anti-immigration demonstrators in Sunderland threw stones at police in riot gear near a mosque, before overturning vehicles, setting a car alight and starting a fire near a police station.

“This was not a protest. This was unforgivable violence and disorder,” Mark Hall, chief police superintendent of the Sunderland area, told reporters on Saturday. — Reuters