Extent of damage inside Israel still being assessed
It is unclear how much damage and how many casualties Israel sustained in the Iranian attack.
One of those injured was a seven-year-old girl from a Bedouin community near the southern town of Arad, who is in intensive care, according to the medical centre that received her. Also unclear is the extent of the damage to the Israeli airbase Nevatim, which was hit by at least 15 ballistic missiles. The Israelis say most of those were intercepted.
President Joe Biden said US forces helped Israel down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles launched.
Biden told Netanyahu US won’t support counterattack against Iran: Report
The US president told the Israeli prime minister during a call yesterday that the US will not support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, Axios quoted a senior White House official as saying.
Biden also told Netanyahu the joint defensive actions by Israel, the US and other countries in the region led to the repelling of the Iranian attack, according to the White House official.
“You got a win. Take the win,” he told Netanyahu, according to the official.
The official said when Biden told Netanyahu that the US would not take in any offensive operations against Iran and would not support such operations, the Israeli prime minister said he understood.
‘This is the distraction that Netanyahu wanted’
The Iranian attack is a useful diversion domestically and beyond for Netanyahu as it shifted the attention away from Gaza and from the criticism Israel is receiving for the way it’s conducting the war, according to an expert.
“These last 12 hours are a victory for Netanyahu – notice what we’re not talking about today. We’re not talking about aid getting into Gaza. We’re not talking about the massacres in Gaza. No one in Israel is talking about the hostages any more,” Mohamad Elmasry, from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera.
“This is the distraction that Netanyahu wanted and we’re seeing sympathies in the Western capitals be reversed as they embrace the Israeli narrative once again,” Elmasry said.
Far-right Israeli minister calls for ‘full control over Gaza’
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says ceasefire talks with Hamas will not bring captives home from Gaza.
“As I warned, giving up on Israel’s red lines and chasing after Hamas for a deal only makes the chance of bringing everyone home further away. It’s time to learn lessons, change direction, and restore full Israeli control all over the Gaza Strip,” he said on X.
Smotrich, who has been excluded from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, has previously called for Palestinians to leave Gaza and make way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom”.
‘Iran’s audacity in such an attack must be erased’: Israeli minister
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz says the threat to attack Iran after its retaliatory response continues to hold.
In an interview with Army Radio, Katz said: “We said that if Iran attacks Israel, we will attack it back and this is still effective. We need to deepen our cooperation with our allies. I will lead a political attack against Iran.”
Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer told Israeli Army Radio: “Iran’s audacity in such an attack must be erased.”
The Iranian mission to the United Nations earlier warned, “Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” adding the United States must “stay away”.
Noting Israel’s deadly attack on its consulate in Syria, Iran also said now it “deemed the matter concluded”.
Israel strikes southern Lebanon after rocket barrage
Israel continues to hit southern Lebanon. Here is where it struck overnight and in the early morning, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent:
- Nabi Sheet in the Bekaa area
- Iqlim al-Tuffah
- Khiam
Exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have been nearly daily and largely confined to the border regions since the start of the war in Gaza.
But they have increased in intensity and frequency raising fear of a wider conflict. On Saturday, the Israeli army said it intercepted 40 launches from Lebanon, marking the armed group’s largest attack since October 7.
