Gaza's crisis persists even as the Israel-Iran conflict lessens.

Temperatures appeared to be dropping by the weekend.

The previous week had seen concerning and unprecedented hostilities between Iran and Israel. In response to what appeared to be an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, the Islamic Republic last Saturday launched hundreds of drones and missiles from Iranian territory toward Israeli targets. Israel and its allies neutralized the attack for the most part, but because it was such a blatant attack, the Israeli war cabinet felt obliged to strike back.

They appeared to respond late on Friday morning, following the advice of numerous diplomats and officials from the West to exercise restraint. There have been reports of possible limited Israeli strikes close to a well-known nuclear facility in the Iranian province of Isfahan in the center. The strike seemed to have been planned as a warning to Iran about Israel's capabilities and awareness of the theocratic regime's military installations and valuables.

Former Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata stated on Army Radio, "Iran must understand that when it acts against us, we have the ability to strike at any time and we can do serious damage." "The United States is on our side, and we have a very capable air force."

In an interview with NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian played down the incident, stating that "they were more like toys that our children play with — not drones" and that "it was not a strike." Additionally, he accepted Israel's plausible deniability, emphasizing that it was unclear whether there was "a connection" between the strike and Israel and implying that Iran would not respond in a new way if Israel stopped acting.

That's good news in a situation where fever is present.

There are many opportunities for miscalculation on both sides of the long-running shadow war between the two nations, and experts believe that this past week was possibly one of the riskiest times thus far. According to Arash Azizi, a senior lecturer in political science and history at Clemson University, Israel and Iran have found "a new equilibrium, not so different from the old one." Azizi told my colleagues this. "There is no longer an immediate threat of escalation."

Shortly after the first reports of the strike surfaced, an anonymous Western diplomat told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, "We feel that Israel listened to our concerns and chose an action that the Iranians could live with." "There is room for cautious optimism, but it's not yet possible to say with certainty that the danger is behind us," he continued.

However, there is less cause for hope in Gaza, the besieged region under Israeli attack that is the scene of one of the most horrifying humanitarian tragedies in history. The Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, reports that the number of Palestinian deaths during the more than six-month conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas has surpassed 34,000 Women and children make up the bulk of those who have died.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power stated earlier this month that it was "credible" to conclude that famine was already present in some parts of Gaza, particularly in the northern part of the territory. While the Biden administration is pushing forward with its plans to build a pier on Gaza's coast so that U.N. agencies and other organizations can bring in food supplies by sea, Israel and Washington claim that humanitarian aid flows have improved recently. However, aid organizations claim that the widespread hunger crisis has not diminished and that not much has changed on the ground.

The war is also fully underway.

According to local officials on Sunday, Israeli strikes on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where over a million Palestinians have been displaced due to the conflict, killed 22 people overnight, including 18 children. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has vowed to launch a massive ground offensive into Rafah in spite of opposition from many Israeli allies, including the worried Biden administration.

Notwithstanding the growing domestic pressure for a deal that would release the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, Netanyahu wants to focus on eliminating the organization's battalions from that location. Critics of Israel worry that such an offensive would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, force many Gazans to leave the region with little chance of returning, and further impede the sporadic diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.

Israeli and American officials talked about Israel's war plans for Rafah at the end of last week. U.S. officials in these discussions "voiced concerns with various courses of action in Rafah, and Israeli participants agreed to take these concerns into account and to have further follow up," according to a statement from the White House discussions.”

Most US Congressmen were not deterred by any of these reservations.

Following months of political animosity, the House approved funding bills for Taiwan, Israel, and the Ukraine's armed forces on Saturday. The measure of support for Israel, totaling $26 billion, primarily in military aid, was approved by an overwhelming majority. $9 billion in humanitarian aid is also included in the package; however, due to the provisions of the bill, some of it cannot be sent to Gaza through the primary U.N. organization in charge of aiding the Palestinian people.

The outcome, according to Netanyahu, "demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization." He celebrated the vote. Once the bill passes the Senate, President Biden is anticipated to sign it.

Among the 58 lawmakers who opposed the package for Israel were thirty-seven Democrats. Twelve of those House Democrats said in a statement that they would not approve of financing for "more offensive weapons" that would murder Palestinian civilians, even though they "strongly" support Israel's right to self-defense. "We think it is morally necessary to take an alternative route," they declared, dismissing the notion of providing additional armaments for Netanyahu's impending assault on Rafah.

One of the lawmakers who dissented, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), claimed that the vote was one of the first genuine chances for Congress to weigh in on the war and voice their concerns about its direction. According to recent polling, the vast majority of Democratic and independent voters disagree with Israel's strategy for the conflict.

Jayapal told me, "We are so far behind where the people of the United States are," in reference to her fellow members of Congress. She also noted that, in contrast to the infamous congressional vote supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq, "the public is not even with us" in this situation.

According to Jayapal, the concept of conditioning aid to Israel was "unthinkable" in Washington not too long ago, but it is currently the focus of intense discussion in Congress. The Biden administration is anticipated to make public its "determinations" regarding the existence of human rights breaches or possible war crimes committed by specific Israeli units that have benefited from U.S. military support, following increasing pressure from activists and media. U.S. law mandates this kind of examination.

Progressive critics of the Biden administration, however, claim that despite privately warning Israeli officials about the conduct of the war, not enough has been done to hold Netanyahu's government accountable. Jayapal said to me, "I want my president to look strong and show the world the United States means what it says."