Ministry of Defense Israel / Ariel HermoniMinister of Defense Gallant (second from right)
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 21:39
Almost a day after Iran’s attack on Israel, the main question is what Israel plans to do. Although world leaders call for calm, Israel’s war cabinet believes Iran must pay a price. But there is no agreement yet about when and how.
According to the Israeli military, Iran and its allies fired a total of 350 projectiles towards Israel. The drones and missiles contained a total of approximately 60 tons of explosive material.
“But Iran’s threat was met with the superiority of our air defense technology,” an army spokesman said. “Led by the United States, together with Britain, France and other allies, we intercepted 99 percent of the projectiles aimed at Israel and thwarted Iran’s attack.”
NOS correspondents from Israel, Lebanon and Washington about Israel’s possible response:
Correspondents on possible response from Israel
Iran’s attack has been condemned from many quarters. The G7, the group of the seven largest industrialized countries, said that “Iran’s action has taken further steps towards destabilizing the region, threatening an uncontrollable escalation.”
Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte condemned the attack late last night. Today, outgoing Foreign Minister Bruins Slot summoned the Iranian ambassador in The Hague. “To convey our condemnation of last night’s dangerous Iranian attack on Israel.”
World leaders are now calling on Israel to exercise restraint. US President Biden is said to have told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that retaliation is not necessary, now that the attack has caused little damage in Israel and appears to have caused few casualties.
But the question remains whether Israel will do the same. In the afternoon the war cabinet met to discuss a possible response. The war cabinet is in favor of retaliation, according to what officials say about that meeting. But there is still discussion about the timing and scale of such an action.
“We will form a regional coalition and make Iran pay the price in a way and at a time that suits us,” Minister Gantz said before the meeting. But he did not share further details.
High state of readiness
In the meantime, Israel remains on maximum alert. “We are still on high alert and assessing the situation. In the past hours we have approved operational plans for both offensive and defensive actions,” an army spokesperson said.
The Netherlands has set the travel advice to red for all of Israel. “It cannot be ruled out that further attacks will take place,” the ministry wrote. “Whatever your situation, don’t go there.” People in the country are advised to leave as soon as possible if it is safe to do so.
