rewrite this title Israeli embassy in US posts meme of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix in response to Iran saying ‘time is up’

Israel’s diplomatic mission in the United States posted a mocking meme depicting The Matrix’s Keanu Reeves in response to an Iranian tweet warning that “time is up.”

Wednesday’s online exchange came as real-life tensions in the Middle East reached new heights, with President Joe Biden visiting Israel on an urgent mission to prevent war between Israel and the Hamas from escalating into a broader regional conflict.

The war which began on October 7 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel has left more than 1,400 Israelis dead, and at least 199 others, including children, kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in airstrikes over the past 11 days, and the number of casualties is expected to rise as Israel is preparing for a possible ground attack.

Iran, a major backer of Hamas, celebrated the group’s brutal attack on Israel, including with jubilant posts on the social media platform X, where Tehran’s embassy in Syria posted the message ” time is up” in Hebrew, clearly directing it at the Israelis.

Wednesday’s online exchange took place as real-life tensions in the Middle East reached new heights, with President Joe Biden visiting Israel on an emergency diplomatic mission.

The Israeli Embassy in the United States responded with the mocking meme showing Reeves’ character Neo from the 1999 film The Matrix.

The animated image depicts Neo making a calling gesture, which occurred during the film’s subway fight scene with the villainous Agent Smith.

This fight ended with Neo’s retirement, although by the end of the film he defeated Smith.

Iran provides weapons and support to Hamas, as well as the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, which has exchanged volleys of rockets with Israel in recent days. Hamas and Hezbollah are both designated terrorist groups by the United States and the European Union.

The online taunting between Israel and Iran comes as the situation in the real world remains extremely serious.

Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday to show support for the United States’ main ally and in a bid to prevent violence from spreading further.

But a planned peace summit in Jordan between Biden and the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories was canceled after an explosion at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds Tuesday night.

Jordan’s King Abdullah reportedly hosted the quadrilateral summit, but he blamed Israel for the deadly hospital explosion and angrily called off the negotiations.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah is seen in a file photo. Iran is a key backer of Hamas, as well as the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Scene of destruction at Al Ahli hospital after an explosion in Gaza City on Tuesday. Terrorists from Israel and Hamas blame each other for the explosion.

People inspect the area of ​​Al-Ahli hospital where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in an explosion that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed each other on Wednesday

Children injured during the hospital strike scream as they are treated on Tuesday at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israelis and Palestinians blame each other for the explosion.

Israel has released what it says are intercepted audio communications showing Hamas fighters attributing the attack to a failed rocket launched by Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-allied militant group.

Biden has publicly supported blaming Israel for the hospital explosion, saying the Pentagon showed him proof that Israeli forces were not behind it.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said: “I was deeply saddened and outraged by the Gaza hospital explosion yesterday, and from what I saw, it appears that it was done by the other team, and not by the other team. You.’

“But there are a lot of people who aren’t sure, so we have a lot to overcome,” Biden added.

“The world is watching. Israel has a set of values ​​like the United States and other democracies, and they are looking at what we are going to do.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry on Wednesday revised the death toll from an explosion at a hospital in Gaza City from 500 to 471, but did not say how authorities reached that number, according to the Associated Press.

Staff members at al-Ahli hospital said they could not assess the death toll because the explosion had dismembered many bodies.

A Lebanese protester is seen on October 18 as a fire rages behind the security gate of the US embassy after clashes with security forces in Beirut.

Protesters throw stones at riot police, during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, near the US embassy in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut

Hospital director Suhaila Tarazi and Episcopal Church officials who run al-Ahli could only estimate the death toll at “several hundred” and refrained from giving an exact figure. .

The hospital explosion sparked new fury and protests across the Middle East.

Protesters invaded the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, setting fires and throwing fireworks in clashes with the Lebanese army.

All non-essential State Department personnel were asked to leave the region, and a level four travel advisory was issued to all Americans advising against travel to Lebanon.

Thousands of students also gathered at Egyptian universities to condemn Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

The Gaza City hospital explosion also sparked protests in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.