On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the escalating situation between Israel and Iran, stating that his government will do everything possible to prevent further escalation. Macron urged Israel to isolate Iran rather than escalate the situation. Similarly, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Iran against further attacks on Israel while urging Israel to play its role in de-escalating the situation.
Israeli authorities announced that educational activities would resume on Monday, and limits on large gatherings would be lifted in most places. Meanwhile, in Iran, state media reported that operations at the country’s airports were back to normal after being suspended due to the aerial attacks on Israel.
Iran launched an attack on Israel in retaliation for the April 1 suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it was responsible for the strike, which killed several Iranian military commanders.
Israel had warned Iran against launching any retaliatory strike from Iranian soil. Iran said its response was confined to the late Saturday attack and warned Israel and the United States of a much larger action if Israel now attacks Iran.
Diplomats have condemned Iran’s attack while working to prevent the situation from escalating into a wider conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held calls with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan on Sunday.
After holding talks on Sunday, the Group of Seven leading industrial countries, or G7, “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s attack on Israel. “We express our full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security,” the leaders said in a statement published by the Italian G7 presidency.
Israel said that Iran launched 320 warheads against it in “an unprecedented attack,” but that its air defences, along with those of the United States and other supportive countries, shot down 99% of them.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, told CNN that Iran targeted a military base that Iran said was used to launch the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus that killed two Iranian generals. He said the overnight airstrike “didn’t cause much damage.”
Lerner said Iran launched 170 explosive drones against Israel, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles, with most of them coming directly from Iranian territory, although some were fired by Iranian militant proxies based in Iraq and Yemen.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told CNN that the “vast majority” of the warheads were launched from Iran, sending them over other countries in the region as they targeted Israel.
A few of the projectiles landed in Israel, but most were shot down before they reached Israeli airspace. Officials said one young Arab Israeli girl was critically injured when hit by shrapnel, the only reported casualty.
Kirby said that while the U.S. helped knock down incoming Iranian warheads, it has told Israel it “will not participate in an attack on Iran.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his war Cabinet to discuss a response to the Iranian attack. “We intercepted, we repelled, together we shall win,” Netanyahu said on social media.
Centrist war Cabinet minister Benny Gantz said Israel would respond to the attack. “We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us,” Gantz said.
Iran urged Israel not to retaliate for the strikes. “The matter can be deemed concluded,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on social media platform X.
However, the mission added that “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.” The aerial attack on Israel from Iranian territory marked a major escalation in the conflict between the rival regional powers and prompted action by U.S. forces in support of Israel.
Israeli reserves Brig. Gen. Jacob Nagel, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, said Israeli forces were assisted by their U.S., British, Jordanian, and Saudi allies in intercepting the Iranian projectiles. A U.S. military official confirmed to VOA that U.S. forces shot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel.
On the night of Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden had a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to an official, Biden’s national security team has pledged to maintain its collaboration with regional allies to prevent any further escalation of the ongoing conflict.
The conversation between the leaders came amid a surge of violence in the region, with several rockets being launched from Gaza into Israel, and the Israeli military retaliating with airstrikes. The situation has been a matter of concern for the international community, and the United States has been actively engaging with the parties involved to prevent any further escalation of the conflict.
