The Israeli army promised Monday “a response” to the massive and unprecedented attack launched by Iran, despite calls from many countries, led by the United States, to avoid a conflagration in the Middle East, where war rages in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to “remain united” in the face of “Iranian aggression, which threatens world peace”, after this attack was foiled with the support of several of its allies, including Washington.
Israel will “retaliate for the launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones on the territory of the State of Israel”, declared the army chief of staff, General Herzi Halevi, while visiting the Nevatim base, in the south of the country.
But since Sunday, calls have been increasing around the world to prevent a massive response which could set the region ablaze, already “on the edge of the precipice”, according to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
US President Joe Biden, Israel’s most powerful ally, assured Monday that he wanted to avoid an escalation.
“Together, with our partners, we defeated this Iranian attack,” he said, while saying he was working “for a ceasefire” in Gaza, “which will bring the hostages home and will prevent the conflict from spreading further than it already has.
A woman walks near a giant poster showing missiles with the emblem of the Islamic Republic in central Tehran, April 15, 2024 / ATTA KENARE / AFP
The Israeli army bombed the Gaza Strip on Monday, after asserting that the Iranian attack would not cause it to deviate from its objectives against Hamas, an ally of Iran, the target of its offensive carried out for more than six months in the Palestinian territory.
“Whenever we choose”
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, Iran for the first time launched a direct attack against Israel, in response to a strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, attributed to Israel, which killed seven members of the Guardians of the revolution.
Israel, Palestinian territories and Iran / Jonathan WALTER, Anibal MAIZ CACERES / AFP
Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Monday that the victims of the strike were “terrorists” acting against Israel.
Israel announced that it had thwarted the attack by Iran with 350 drones and missiles, almost all of which were intercepted by Israeli air defenses with the help of the United States and other allied countries including France and the United Kingdom, but also Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
An Israeli anti-aircraft defense battery near a village not recognized by the authorities, in the Negev desert, southern Israel, April 14, 2024 / AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
Iran said it considered “the matter closed” and warned Israel, its sworn enemy, against any “reckless behavior” which would trigger a “much stronger” reaction on its part.
The Israeli war cabinet chaired by Benjamin Netanyahu, under great pressure to avoid an escalation, met on Sunday then Monday, without a decision being announced on the form that a response could take.
A mural by the art group “Grafitiyul” on the facade of a wall in Tel Aviv, depicting on an Israeli flag President Joe Biden dressed as “Captain America” with his shield and the Star of David symbol , April 15, 2024 / JACK GUEZ / AFP
“We will do whatever is necessary to protect the State of Israel, and we will do it on the occasion and at the time we choose,” Admiral Hagari said Monday, at the Nevatim base.
The army released a short video showing a shallow crater along a wall caused by the impact of an Iranian projectile as it fell on the base.
After standing up with its allies against the Iranian attack, the United States said it did not want “an extended war with Iran”, and warned that it would not participate in a retaliatory operation.
Washington does not want “escalation” with Iran but will continue to “defend Israel”, assured American Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, while the White House described the Iranian attack as “a spectacular failure “.
A crater caused by an Israeli strike on a road in the village of Alma al-Chaab in southern Lebanon, April 15, 2024 / – / AFP
The United Kingdom and France have also distanced themselves. The head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, ruled out his country’s participation in a response and French President Emmanuel Macron called for avoiding a regional “conflagration”.
Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, tensions have continued to worsen in the Middle East, involving Israel and Iran, enemies since the Iranian revolution of 1979, and their respective allies.
The Islamic Republic, which calls for the destruction of Israel, has until now refrained from attacking it head-on and the two countries were used to confronting each other through third parties, such as Lebanese Hezbollah and the Yemeni rebels. Houthis, allies of Iran.
Iranians carrying the portrait of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei celebrate the attack on Israel, April 15, 2024 in Tehran / ATTA KENARE / AFP
On Monday, the Israeli army announced that four soldiers had been injured in Lebanese territory. Hezbollah had previously claimed to have activated “explosive devices” when Israeli soldiers crossed the border.
The Golden Gate blocked
In the Gaza Strip, dozens of Israeli raids struck the Khan Younes sector in the south before dawn on Monday, where 18 bodies were recovered from under the rubble, according to Civil Defense.
Children walk with other displaced Palestinians on a coastal road in the central Gaza Strip to return to the north, April 14, 2024 / – / AFP
Benjamin Netanyahu is maintaining his plan for a ground offensive against the neighboring town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, which he presents as the last major bastion of Hamas and where, according to the army, hostages are being held.
And this despite warnings from the international community, which fears a bloodbath in this city which has become a refuge for a million and a half Palestinians, most of them displaced.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack carried out on October 7 by the Islamist movement from Gaza, which left 1,170 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data. More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain held in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel promised to destroy Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union.
Its army launched an offensive which has so far left 33,797 dead in the Palestinian territory, including 68 in 24 hours, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
On Monday in the United States, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the Golden Gate Bridge, the emblematic bridge of the city of San Francisco, and displayed a banner bearing the words: “Stop the world for Gaza”.
This protest is part of an initiative called “A15 Action”, which seeks to blockade many major cities around the world, “in solidarity with Palestine”.
