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Jerusalem, Apr 14 (AP) Israel praised the success of its defences in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles while tensions ran high over a possible Israeli counter-strike.
An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday the launches numbered more than 300, but 99 per cent of them were intercepted. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.
The Iranian attack on Saturday, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel's six-month war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.
An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 people, according to local health officials.
Currently:
— Iran's attack on Israel raised fears of a wider war, but all sides in the conflict also scored gains.
— US helps Israel shoot down nearly all' Iran-launched attack drones as Biden vows support.
— President Joe Biden cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team and monitor the situation in the Middle East as Iran launched an attack against Israel.
Here is the latest:
ISRAEL ACTIVATING TWO RESERVE BRIGADES FOR OPERATIONS IN GAZA
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it is activating two reserve brigades for “operational activities” in Gaza.
Sunday's announcement comes as Israel prepares for a ground invasion of Rafah – the southern Gaza city that Israel says is Hamas' last major stronghold.
Israel last week withdrew most of its remaining ground forces from Gaza after six months of war, leaving its troop levels in the territory at the lowest level in months.
The Rafah invasion faces stiff international opposition, in large part because over 1 million people, roughly half of Gaza's population, are now crowded into the city after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the territory. They say they have nowhere else to go.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is determined to complete the Gaza operation. He says Israel has even set a date for the operation and claimed that Israel has a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah.
G7 COUNTRIES CONDEMN IRAN'S ATTACK ON ISRAEL
ROME — Leaders of the G7 — the informal gathering of industrialized countries that includes the United States, United Kingdom and France — issued a statement on Sunday “unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms Iran's direct and unprecedented attack against Israel”.
The statement came after the leaders met in a video conference hosted by the Italian presidency.
“Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. Israel, with the help of its partners, defeated the attack,” the statement reads. “We express our full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security.”
The group also stressed that Iran “with its actions, has further stepped toward the destabilisation of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.”
The G7 leaders said that scenario must be avoided.
“We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilising initiatives,” they said.
HEZBOLLAH PRAISES IRAN ATTACK ON ISRAEL, CALLS IT A NEW PHASE' IN CONFLICT WITH ISRAEL
BEIRUT — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Sunday hailed Iran for its early attack on southern Israel, saying it's the beginning of a “new phase” of the conflict with Israel and the Palestinian cause.
The Iranian attack came less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building. It marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“The operation precisely achieved its limited military objectives, despite the involvement of the United States, its allies, and its regional tools in responding to the stunning attack,” the Lebanese group said in a statement.
“The long-term political and strategic objectives for this major development will be successfully apparent over time.”
ISRAELI WAR CABINET MEMBER GANTZ PRAISES INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO THWART IRAN ATTACK
JERUSALEM — Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, praised regional and international efforts that helped thwart the Iranian missile and drone attack on Sunday.
The US and Britain have confirmed that they helped intercept some of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward Israel early Sunday.
“This event is not over — the strategic alliance and regional cooperation system that we built and stood its significant test needs to be strengthened right now, ” Gantz said.
Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iran, also indicated its military may have come to Israel's defence, despite being at odds with its neighbour over its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Jordan briefly closed its airspace and announced that “some of the flying objects that entered our airspace last night were dealt with and confronted”.
AFGHAN TALIBAN SAYS IRANIAN ATTACK WAS LEGITIMATE SELF-DEFENCE
KABUL — The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is part of the Taliban government, issued a statement in support of Iran Saturday, saying Israel acted “in continuation of its crimes and in contravention of all diplomatic norms and international laws” by the attack on April 2 on the Iranian consulate in Syria, in which 12 people were killed.
“In response to which the Islamic Republic of Iran exercised its legitimate right to self-defense last night,” the statement said. It accused Israel of trying to “divert world attention away from the genocide of over 33,000 civilians in Gaza by violating the airspace of sovereign states and provocations aimed at broadening regional insecurity.”
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls on all influential world and regional states to expedite their efforts of halting the crimes of the Zionist regime in order to prevent further escalation of the crisis,” the statement concluded.
IRAN SAYS IT NOTIFIED THE US BEFORE ATTACKING ISRAEL
TEHRAN — Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, in a press conference said his country notified the United States before launching the strike against Israel.
“Early Sunday in a message to the White House we announced that our operation would be limited and minimalistic and aimed at legitimate defence and punishing the Israeli regime," Amirabdollahian said.
Tehran's top diplomat also said the limited Iranian attacks would not target civilians or economic areas: “In our response, we defined no response against civilian targets. Our armed forces targeted no economic or populated areas.”
Amirabdollahian said the strike's goal was to punish the Israeli regime and it was a legitimate act of defence by Iranian forces: “Our goal in this legitimate act of defence is simply punishing the Israeli regime.”
“We are not after American individuals or bases in the region”, Amirabdollahian said.
YEMEN'S HOUTHI REBELS SAY THE IRANIAN ATTACK WAS LEGITIMATE
CAIRO — The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday said Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel was a “legitimate act” that came in response to an airstrike on Iran's consulate in Syria that was widely blamed on Israel.
Writing on the messaging app Telegram, Mohamed Abdel Salam, spokesman for the Houthis, said Israel “won't be able to escape its crimes without punishment”.
The Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital and much of the country's north, have repeatedly launched attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. They also fired missiles and explosives-laden drones towards Israel.
CYPRUS PRESIDENT SAYS HIS NATION WASN'T INVOLVED IN ANY MILITARY ACTION
NICOSIA — Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides says the east Mediterranean island nation “wasn't in anyway involved” in any military action to thwart Iran's unprecedented drone and missile attack against Israel.
Christodoulides told reporters Sunday that aircraft had arrived in Cyprus “from neighbouring countries” late Saturday. He said they would depart Sunday.
Asked if the UK had informed the Cypriot government ahead of time that any of its warplanes from a British air base on the island would be involved in intercepting the Iranian attack, Christodoulides said there was no forewarning.
The UK's two military bases on Cyprus — including the larger air base RAF Akrotiri —- are British sovereign territory and don't require the Cypriot government's permission to launch any military action. But normally, the UK does brief the Cypriot government of any impending action as a courtesy.
The Cypriot president said his foreign minister spoke with his British counterpart only after the fact.
He added that he's hoping there's no further escalation because his government doesn't believe that “any problems are solved through such aggressive acts”.
LUFTHANSA SUSPENDS SOME MIDEAST FLIGHTS THROUGH MONDAY
German airline Lufthansa said on Sunday that it had suspended regular flights to and from Tel Aviv, Amman and Erbil through Monday. It said it plans to serve those destinations again starting Tuesday, but that flights to Beirut and Tehran will remain suspended until at least Thursday.
Lufthansa said it was monitoring and assessing the security situation in the Middle East and was in close contact with authorities.
“The safety of our passengers and crews always has top priority,” it said in an emailed statement.
Lufthansa, Europe's biggest airline group, announced on Friday that its planes were avoiding Iranian airspace.
UK MOVES ADDITIONAL WARPLANES TO THE MIDEAST
NICOSIA — The British government says it has moved “several additional” fighter jets and refuelling tankers to the region, following Iran's unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel.
In a statement on Sunday, the British government said the air assets will bolster the UK's existing operation against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq as well as intercepting “any airborne attacks within the range of our existing missions, as required”.
Asked by The Associated Press whether the additional jets have been transferred to the UK's air base in Cyprus, a spokesperson said a “number of aircraft” have been “temporarily moved” from Romania to bolster our existing footprint in the region. The official didn't disclose the exact location for “reasons of operational security”.
Israel said Sunday that 99 per cent of more than 300 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles Iran had launched were intercepted.
ZELENSKYY CONDEMNS IRAN'S ATTACK
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Iran's attack on Israel, drawing parallels to the war ravaging his own country where Russia has also used Iran-made drones.
“We in Ukraine know very well the horror of similar attacks by Russia, which uses the same Shahed drones and Russian missiles, the same tactics of mass air strikes," he said.
“Every effort must be made to prevent a further escalation in the Middle East. Iran's actions threaten the entire region and the world, just as Russia's actions threaten a larger conflict, and the obvious collaboration between the two regimes in spreading terror must face a resolute and united response from the world,” he said in a post on X.
“It is critical that the United States Congress make the necessary decisions to strengthen America's allies at this critical time,” Zelenskyy said.
SUNAK SAYS UK SHOT DOWN A NUMBER OF IRANIAN DRONES
LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that UK military jets shot down “a number of Iranian attack drones" during an attack on Israel.
Sunak says the Royal Air Force sent additional planes to the Middle East to help intercept airborne strikes after Tehran announced it had launched an assault on Saturday.
“It's clear that Iran is determined to sow discontent and destabilize the region, its own backyard,” Sunak told the BBC on Sunday. “If this attack had been successful, the fallout for regional security would be hard to overstate.”
Sunak is expected to hold an urgent call with US President Joe Biden and other Group of Seven leaders later Sunday.
UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps also posted on X that British warplanes “intercepted and destroyed multiple one-way attack drones” and that all aircraft involved "returned safely to base”.
GERMANY SAYS IRANIAN ATTACK BRINGS THE REGION TO THE BRINK
BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says the Iranian attack on Israel had brought the region “to the edge of the abyss”.
“With its aggressive behaviour, with which it wants to destabilize a whole region, Iran is isolated. And Israel's capabilities have shown that Israel is strong, Israel can defend itself,” Baerbock said in Berlin.
“I call on all actors in the region to act prudently. The escalatory spiral must be broken. We must together find a way to end the violence,” Baerbock said.
She said Germany and its allies were discussing “consequences” following the Iranian attack, without elaborating.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking to reporters during a trip to China, said he would take part in a meeting of G7 leaders later Sunday.
“We will do everything to prevent a further escalation,” Scholz said. “We can only warn everyone, especially Iran, against continuing in this way.”
Scholz is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.
IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER REITERATES OPERATION IS OVER
TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said his country has no intention of continuing the military operation against Israel.
“At this juncture, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention of continuing defensive operations,” he posted on X, and added: "But if necessary, it will not hesitate to protect its legitimate interests against any new aggression.”
Amirabdollahian called the attack “exercising the right of legitimate defence” and said it shows Iran's responsible approach to “regional and international peace and security”.
POPE FRANCIS APPEALS TO IRAN AND ISRAEL TO AVOID A SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged Iran and Israel in his Sunday's prayer to avoid new actions that could spark “a spiral of violence” and drag the Middle East deeper into conflict.
“I follow in prayer and with concern, even pain, the news that came in the last few hours about the aggravation of the situation in Israel, due to the intervention by Iran,” Francis said, addressing pilgrims from the window overlooking St. Peter's Square.
The pontiff made another “heartfelt appeal” to immediately stop any action that could further intensify the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“No one should threaten the existence of others. Instead, all nations should side with peace and help Israelis and Palestinians to live in two States side by side, in safety,” he added. “Enough war, enough attacks, enough violence. Yes to dialogue, yes to peace."
The pope has often called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking conflicting parties to follow the path of negotiations.
IRAN SUMMONS 3 EUROPEAN AMBASSADORS OVER CONDEMNATION OF ATTACK ON ISRAEL
TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned the ambassadors of the UK, Germany and France after the three European nations condemned an Iranian attack on Israel.
The ministry said on its website that the ambassadors were called in over their governments' “irresponsible stances” on the Iranian operation against Israel, which was in retaliation for a strike widely blamed on Israel on an Iranian consular building in Syria earlier this month that killed two Iranian generals.
RUSSIA EXPRESSES CONCERN FOLLOWING IRAN'S ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “utmost concern” on Sunday following Iranian strikes on Israel.
It said it hoped that Middle Eastern governments would resolve their problems through political and diplomatic means.
It also said that Western states had stopped the UN Security Council from “adequately responding” to the April 1 strike on Iran's consulate building in Syria.
“We have repeatedly warned that unresolved crises throughout the Middle East — primarily in the area of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — are often being fuelled by irresponsible and provocative actions and will lead to increased tensions in the area,” the ministry said in a statement.
IRAN WARNS US AGAINST COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL IN ANY NEW ATTACK
TEHRAN — Iran has sent a message to the US warning Washington against cooperation with Israel in any military operation again Tehran following its unprecedented attack on Israel.
The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, as saying that Tehran had communicated its message to the US through the Swiss Embassy, which handles US interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations.
President Ebrahim Raisi sent a message praising Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard for launching the attack, saying it had taught a lesson to the “Zionist regime”.
He also warned that “any new adventure against the interests of the Iranian nation would be met with a heavier and regretful response from the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
State TV meanwhile broadcast interviews with people on the street who praised the Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel and thanked the Iranian military.
HAMAS DEMANDS WRITTEN COMMITMENT THAT ISRAEL WILL WITHDRAW FROM GAZA
CAIRO — Hamas has demanded a “clear written commitment” that Israel will withdraw from the Gaza Strip during the second of a three-phase cease-fire deal, a senior Egyptian official and a Hamas official said on Sunday.
The Palestinian militant group said on Saturday it submitted its response to a six-week cease-fire proposal to Egyptian and Qatari mediators. It said it's still committed to its demands for a permanent cease-fire, Israeli army withdrawal from all parts of Gaza, the return of displaced people to their homes, intensifying the flow of aid and the start of reconstruction.
Israel said earlier Sunday that Hamas had rejected the latest proposal for a deal submitted last week.
“We confirm our readiness to reach a deal regarding a serious exchange of prisoners between the two sides,” Hamas said.
The proposal presented to both sides calls for a six-week cease-fire in Gaza, during which Hamas would release 40 of the more than 100 hostages the group is holding in the enclave in exchange for 900 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, including 100 serving long sentences for serious crimes.
The Egyptian official said Hamas wants “a comprehensive, phased deal” that included ending the war, Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and an agreement of all hostages in return for a large number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel says it wants to destroy Hamas' military and governing capabilities.
The officials said the response also included an increase in the number of Palestinian prisoners Hamas wants released from Israel.
The officials from Egypt and Hamas spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to disclose details from the sensitive negotiations. They said that Hamas' response included the unrestricted return of displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza through the two main south-north thoroughfares.
The Egyptian official said mediators will carefully review the response before calling for another round of talks. (AP)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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