Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault earlier this week, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Israel’s allies have been urging Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral.
The diplomatic pressure came as Iran’s president warned that even the “tiniest” invasion of its territory would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel after an apparent Israeli strike killed two Iranian generals. Israel and Iran have waged a long shadow war, but the strike was Iran’s first direct military attack on Israel. Israel says it and its partners intercepted nearly all the missiles and drones.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned Israel against any retaliation as he addressed an annual army parade, which was moved from its usual route and not broadcast live on state TV — possibly to avoid being targeted. In remarks carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Raisi said the weekend attack was limited, and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime.”
Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,800 people, according to local health officials.
Currently:
— Netanyahu brushes off calls for restraint as Iran warns against retaliation
— Lebanon says Israeli agents likely killed Hezbollah-linked currency exchanger
— EU leaders vow to impose tougher sanctions against Iran
— The G7 eyes targeted sanctions on Iran and a message of restraint
— US House’s Ukraine, Israel aid package gains Biden’s support. What’s inside the package?
U.S. AND 47 OTHER COUNTRIES CONDEMN IRANIAN ATTACK ON ISRAEL
UNITED NATIONS – The United States and 47 other countries issued a statement unequivocally condemning attacks on Israel by Iran “and its militant partners.”
The statement issued Wednesday night calls their “dangerous and destabilizing actions” an escalation “that poses a grave threat to international peace and security.”
The Iranian attack on Saturday marked the first time Tehran has launched a direct military assault on Israel. Israeli authorities said Iran lunched more than 300 drones and missiles, 99% of which were intercepted by air defenses in tandem with the U.S., Britain, France and Jordan.
The attack took place less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consulate building in Damascus.
The 48 mainly Western countries also condemned the fact that the ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones “violated the airspace of several regional states, putting at risk the lives of innocent people in those countries, and appeared to traverse airspace near the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
The countries also condemned Iran’s seizure of a Portuguese-flagged commercial ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and called for the immediate release of the ship and its crew.
“We welcome the efforts to avert a further immediate escalation of violence in the region following the successful coordinated efforts to defend against Iran’s attack,” the statement said. “We call on all regional parties to take steps to avert further escalation of the situation.”
UNRWA HEAD SAYS ISRAEL IS TRYING TO END ITS OPERATIONS IN GAZA
UNITED NATIONS – The head of the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees is accusing Israel of trying to end its operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Philippe Lazzarini is urging the U.N. Security Council to safeguard his agency’s critical role as the relief agency for Palestinians.
Lazzarini told the council Wednesday that Israel has banned the agency from delivering aid to Gaza. International experts have warned that faminine is imminent in the northern part of the territory.
Since the war began, Lazzarini said, 178 personnel from the agency known as UNRWA have been killed. More than 160 of the agency’s premises, which were mostly used to shelter Palestinians, have been damaged or destroyed, killing more than 400 people.
“We demand an independent investigation and accountability for the blatant disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers, operations, and facilities under international law,” UNRWA’s commissioner general said.
Israel has alleged that 12 of UNRWA’s thousands of workers participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war. Lazzarini pledged to implement recommendations and strengthen safeguards to ensure UNRWA’s neutrality.
QATAR SAYS IT’S RETHINKING ITS MEDIATOR ROLE
DOHA, Qatar — Qatar’s prime minister said Wednesday the country is reevaluating its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Qatar has been a key intermediary throughout the war in Gaza. It, along with the U.S. and Egypt, was instrumental in helping negotiate a brief halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani said there had been an “abuse” of Qatar’s mediation for “narrow political interests.”
He did not name one side in his remarks. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized Qatar and recently threatened to shutter Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera.
Top Hamas leaders live in exile in Qatar, which is seen as one of the only parties with influence over the militant group.
Al Thani said there were “limits” to the role of mediator and “to the ability to which we can contribute to these negotiations in a constructive manner.”
Mediators have been trying to push Hamas and Israel toward a cease-fire deal, but the sides remain far apart on key terms.
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES `MAXIMUM RESTRAINT’
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is reiterating his call for “maximum restraint” between Israel and Iran.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday that rhetoric in the Middle East is becoming “increasingly dangerous.” Dujarric said the world and the region “cannot afford another open conflict.”
The comments follow the Israeli prime minister’s vow to respond to Tehran’s first direct attack against his country and the Iranian’s president’s warning of a massive response if Israel does.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON PALESTINIAN STATE
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote this week on a resolution that would give a green light for a Palestinian state to join the United Nations as a full member, a move opposed by the United States.
The vote was scheduled for Friday afternoon. But Arab nations are pressing for a vote Thursday, when the council is holding a ministerial meeting on the Palestinian Authority’s request for full U.N. membership.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivered the application in 2011. That bid failed because the Palestinians did not get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.
In early April, after years of failed on-and-off peace talks, the Palestinians turned to the United Nations again to fulfill their dream of an independent state, sending a letter to the Security Council that was supported by 140 countries.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, had promised to veto any resolution endorsing Palestinian membership.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood reiterated the longstanding position last week: “The issue of full Palestinian membership is a decision that should be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Israel says such steps are an attempt to sidestep the negotiating process. Israel’s current right-wing government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood.
ISRAEL’S AIR FORCE REVIEWS ITS DEFENSE OF IRAN’S ATTACK
SDEROT, Israel — An Israeli military official says the air force is preparing for future attacks from Iran.
The official said Wednesday that the air force has been reviewing its successful defense against Iran’s missile attack over the weekend as it makes adjustments for potential additional fighting.
Israel has promised to respond against Iran, raising the possibility of a full-blown war, with Lebanon’s well-armed Hezbollah militant group almost certainly joining the fold.
Hezbollah, which has been locked in daily tit-for-tat fighting with Israel through the six-month Gaza war, is believed to have well over 100,000 rockets and missiles in its arsenal. Combined with Iran’s weapons, that could pose a major test for Israel’s air defense systems.
“We are preparing ourselves for the next time, debriefing the mission and seeing how could we prepare ourselves for the for the next attack,” said Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, the former commander of Israel’s air defense who is now serving in reserves. He spoke to reporters at a military base in southern Israel.
Iran says its strike was a response to an alleged Israeli airstrike that killed two Iranian generals in Syria on April 1.
Israel says 99% of the more than 300 missiles and drones that Iran lauched were intercepted. It was assisted a coalition of international partners and the fact that Iran telegraphed its attack ahead of time.
ISRAEL SAYS IT ARRESTED AND KILLED MILITANTS IN BEIT HANOUN
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Wednesday that it arrested and killed militants in an operation in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun over the past week.
The announcement comes after Palestinians said troops conducted raids there and forced displaced people to leave their shelters.
The military said it was a “focused operation” meant to remove militants from a civilian area. It did not say how many people were killed or arrested.
It said it targeted two facilities used as schools after intelligence pointed to militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The military said forces told civilians to leave the building before raiding it.
Palestinians had reported heavy bombardment of Beit Hanoun. Witnesses said many people had been interrogated and some adults were detained and taken to unknown locations.
Palestinians have said the forces have left the town. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the operation was over.
It was the latest in a series of Israeli raids in northern Gaza.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-hamas-latest-04-17-2024-7e4ba24fbb150f020a2d240dad9d462f
