“TAKE THE WIN”
Iran’s allies in the region joined the attack, with Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels also launching drones at Israel, according to security agency Ambrey.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement announced it had fired rockets at Israeli positions in the annexed Golan Heights around the same time, as well as a second barrage hours later.
An Israeli strike destroyed a building used by Hezbollah in Lebanon’s east on Sunday, Israeli and Lebanese sources said. A Hezbollah source told AFP that there were no casualties.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations warned Washington to keep out of Iran’s conflict with Israel.
The mission added on X that “the matter can be deemed concluded”.
“However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.”
US media reported that Biden was looking to de-escalate.
News outlet Axios said the president had told Netanyahu he would oppose an Israeli counterattack against Iran and that the prime minister should “take the win”.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for “calm heads to prevail”, adding that UK fighter jets were among those shooting down Iranian attack drones.
NATO said it was “vital that the conflict in the Middle East does not spiral out of control”.
Pope Francis called for “an end to any action which could fuel a spiral of violence”.
The UN Security Council was to meet at around 2000 GMT Sunday (4am Singapore time Monday) to discuss the latest crisis at Israel’s request.
G7 nations will also hold a video conference in the early afternoon to discuss the attack.
Jordan, which is located between Israel and Iran, said it had intercepted “flying objects” that breached its airspace during the attack.
Before Tehran launched its attack on Saturday, the Israeli military warned Iran it would suffer the “consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further”.
Iran had earlier seized an Israeli-linked container vessel in the Gulf, putting the whole region on alert.
GAZA STALEMATE
Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza continued. The war began with an unprecedented Oct 7 attack by Hamas against Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,729 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Late Saturday, Hamas said it had submitted its response to a truce plan presented by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators at talks that started in Cairo on Apr 7.
Hamas said it was sticking to its previous demands, insisting on “a permanent ceasefire” and the “withdrawal of the (Israeli) occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip”.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency described this as a rejection of the proposal, accusing Hamas of “continuing to exploit the tension with Iran” and aiming for “a general escalation in the region”.
Source: CNA
