The head of Israel’s military has said the country would respond to Iran’s weekend attack as several Western countries urged Israel to avoid an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours on Monday over Iran’s missile and drone attack.
Israel’s military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said his country would respond but did not provide details.
“This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response,” he said at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel.
Iran’s attack – launched in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus earlier this month – has increased fears of open warfare between Israel and Iran and heightened concerns that violence rooted in Israel’s war on Gaza is spreading further in the region.
“We’re on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told Spanish radio station Onda Cero.
“We have to step on the brakes and reverse gear.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron made similar appeals, echoing calls for restraint by Washington and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” Guterres said late on Sunday. “Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate.”
Russia has refrained from criticising its ally Iran in public over the strikes, but expressed concern about the risk of escalation on Monday and also called for restraint. – Al Jazeera.
