JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
ISRAEL
MUST ATTACK IRAN QUICK TONIGHT AND DROWN OUT THE TUNNELS IN GAZA.THEN
ISRAEL MUST DEFEAT LEBANON, SYRIA, PART OF EGYPT, WEST BANK. TAKE OVER
THESE LANDS LIKE GOD PROMISED THE LAND TO ISRAEL NOT THE ISHMAELITE
COCKROACHES.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt
before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD
TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
LUKE 21:11
11 And
great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and
pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great
signs shall there be from heaven.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And
this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people
that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while
they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their
holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it
shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall
be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his
neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his
neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)
Leviticus 26:15-17 (KJV)
15-and
if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so
that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16-I
also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror,
consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and
cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your
enemies shall eat it.
17-And I will set my face against you, and ye
shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over
you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Job 22:4-22 (KJV)
4-Will he reprove you for fear of you? will he enter with you into judgment?
5-Is not your wickedness great? and your iniquities without end?
6-For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7-You have not given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8-But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honorable man dwelt in it.
9-You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10-Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden fear troubles you;
11-Or darkness, that you can not see; and abundance of waters cover you.
12-Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13-And you say, How does God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14-Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he sees not; and he walks in the circle of heaven.
15-Have you marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
16-Who were cut down before their time, whose foundation was swept away with a flood:
17-Who said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do to us?
18-Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19-The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20-Surely our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumes.
21-Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto you.
22-Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
REVELATION 16:3-7
3
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as
the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the
sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord,
which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6
For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints
and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are
worthy.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
through which the
world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. But by His
word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being
kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.
Elam passed into the hands of the Persians" (A.H. Sayce). (IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:35-39
35-Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36-And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,
and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no
nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37-For I will
cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that
seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce
anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have
consumed them:
38-And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
39-But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 32:24
24-There
[is] Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them
slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the
nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the
living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the
pit.
ISRAEL NEEDS TO
RESPOND IMMEDIATELY AGAINST IRAN (HOPEFULLY TONIGHT APR 14TH, APR 15TH
IN ISRAEL. BEFORE IRAN EXOSTS ISRAELS DEFENCES. ISRAEL SHOT OVER 1
BILLION IN ROCKETS AGAINST ISRANS CHEAP ROCKETS LAST NIGHT. THE IRANIAN
CITIZENS ARE STOCKING UP ON FOOD AND WATER.AND TAKING THEIR MONEY OUT OF
THE BANKS. AND THEIR AIRPORTS ARE CLOSED. THEY KNOW SOMETHING BIG IS
GOING TO OCCUR AGAINST THEM FROM ISRAEL. WELL WE KNOW ONE OPTION OF
ISRAEL IS TO GO AFTER IRANS 15 NUCLEAR SITES.ANOTHER OPTION IS GO AFTER
IRANS DRONE MANUFACTURING SITES IF THEY KNOW WERE THEY ARE IN IRAN. THE
BEST ONE IS TO BURN THE IRANIAN OIL FIELDS LIKE THE COUNTRIES DID IN THE
GULF WAR. IF THE IRANIAN COCKROCHES OIL FIELDS ARE UP IN FLAMES. THE
TERRORIST MONEY STOPS.ALSO HIT ALL THE IRANIAN DAMS WHICH WILL STOP THE
FLOW OF WATER TO THE NUCLEAR PLANTS. ALSO ISRAEL MUST BUNKER BUSTERS
IRANS MISSLE SILOS UNDER GROUND. THE ONLY THING MISSING FROM THE EZEKIEL
38-39 WAR IS-THAT RUSSIA NOT IRAN HAS TO LEAD THE COCKROCH ISLAMISTS
AGAINST ISRAEL.IF RUSSIA STARTS STICKING UP FOR THE ISLAMISTS AGAINST
ISRAEL. AND IF ALL THE ARAB MUSLIMS COUNTRIES GO TO RUSSIA FOR MEETINGS.
THEN WE COULD EXPECT THE EZEKIEL 38-39 WAR TO OCCUR. GOD HIMSELF WILL
THEN PUT A HOOK IN THE JAWS OF RUSSIA (PUTIN) TO TAKE THE OIL AND
NATURAL GAS FROM ISRAEL. WHILE THE MUSLIMS WILL THEN GLADLY MARCH
AGAINST ISRAEL.TO KILL EVERY JEW IN ISRAEL. ITS RUSSIA THAT NEEDS TO
LEAD THE 300 MILLION MUSLIM, GERMAN, RUSSIAN ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL.
HERES THE COUNTRIES THAT WILL MARCH AGAINST ISRAEL-RUSSIA (LEAD),
GERMANY, IRAN, IRAQ, ETHIOPIA, LIBYA, YEMEN, SUDAN, TURKEY, ALGERIA,
MOROCCO, SOMALIA AND OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN MUSLIM COUNTRIES. AND 85% OR
300 MILLION RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WILL BE LYING DEAD ON THE MOUNTAINS OF
ISRAEL. WERE GOD WILL SACRICE THE BODIES OF THIS RUSSIA, MUSLIM HOARD TO
THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN ISRAEL RIGHT NOW
TILL MAY OR JUNE.
Biden said to tell PM to 'think
carefully and strategically'War cabinet said to favor hitting back at
Iran but divided over when and how
Israeli official quoted insisting
‘there will be a response’ as top decision-making body ends talks on
counterattack without reaching decision and US nudges Israel to think
twice-By Jeremy Sharon-and Agencies 15 April 2024, 12:59 am
After
over three hours of deliberations on Sunday afternoon, Israel’s
five-person war cabinet did not reach a decision as to how the country
would respond to Iran’s massive missile and drone barrage on Saturday
night.Given several reports that the US is urging caution and that US
President Joe Biden himself urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
“think carefully and strategically,” the war cabinet suspended its
discussions, but is expected to reconvene in short order, Channel 12
News reported.The Israel Hayom daily newspaper cited, however, an
Israeli official as stating that “there will be a response,” while the
NBC network quoted an official source in the Prime Minister’s Office as
saying that while a decision has yet to be made, “the IDF will need to
present options” and that “it is clear that Israel will respond.”Israeli
officials cited by Reuters said that the war cabinet favors a
retaliation against Iran, but is divided over the timing and scale of
any such response.The war cabinet discussions come less than 24 hours
after Iran launched an unprecedented assault against Israel in which it
fired some 350 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Israel
on Saturday night, 99% of which were successfully intercepted, the IDF
said.According to multiple Hebrew media reports, in light of this
massive salvo, war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and his National Unity
party colleague Gadi Eisenkot, an observer in the war cabinet, both
proposed striking back at Iran while the Iranian attack was still
underway.This suggestion was firmly opposed by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief Herzi Halevi, and
others, Channel 12 news reported, in part because of the strain of
undertaking simultaneous action, when the IAF was focused on
intercepting Iran’s incoming missiles and drones.The Prime Minister’s
Office denied the report, saying “the opposite was true,” although
Channel 12 said it stood by the story, saying it had been confirmed by
four sources.Subsequently, when the success of Israel’s air defense
systems became evident and it was clear that the Iranian onslaught had
caused little damage, and after Biden spoke with Netanyahu, the idea of
an immediate Israeli response was set aside, both Channels 12 and 13
reported.In a separate, unsourced report, Channel 12 claimed that the US
had not sought to veto any Israeli response, but that it told Israel it
needed to know in advance and be coordinated, on any such reaction. The
US has publicly made clear that it will not participate in any Israeli
response.Channel 12 further claimed that Israel is trying to ascertain
whether, in return for restraint, it can attain some kind of “strategic
pact” with the US against Iran, without having to make commitments on
matters such as the Palestinian issue.Earlier Sunday, Foreign Minister
Israel Katz spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné and thanked them for their
support and assistance in thwarting the Iranian attack on Israel last
night.“However, I emphasized: Israel, like any other country, is
committed to defend its citizens,” said Katz in a post on X.“I told them
— it’s your time to weaken the Iranian regime, to proscribe the IRGC as
a terrorist organization, and to impose crippling sanctions on the
Iranian missile project. Iran must pay a price,” he added.And the
Foreign Ministry issued an official statement earlier in the day,
stating that Israel has the right to self-defense following Iran’s
massive aerial assault, and said that “Iran must pay a price for its
aggression.”Jerusalem said the “initial price” must be the immediate
recognition of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps — the massive
paramilitary force which answers to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei and which staged Saturday night’s attack — as a terror
organization, as well as new sanctions against Iran, especially those
targeting Tehran’s ballistic missile program.“Last night, a large-scale
and unprecedented attack — consisting of hundreds of drones, cruise
missiles and ballistic missiles — was launched by Iran against the State
of Israel,” said the ministry in a statement to the press.“This attack
proves once again what Israel has been saying for years: Iran is the one
behind the terrorist attacks in the region, and is also the greatest
threat to regional stability and world order.”The Foreign Ministry noted
that Iran-backed militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah
in Lebanon, all “supplemented” the Iranian attack with their own aerial
assaults on Israel.“Just like any other country, Israel has the right to
defend itself in the face of Iran’s massive attack. Israel successfully
defended itself against Iran’s aggression and will continue to do so in
the future,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Jordan, France, UK
summon Iranian envoys over conduct surrounding Israel strike-Countries
took part alongside Israel and US in successful interceptions overnight
of drones and missiles launched by the Islamic Republic toward Israeli
airspace-By Reuters, AFP and ToI Staff 15 April 2024, 12:58 am
The
UK, France, and Jordan summoned on Sunday the heads of the Iranian
diplomatic missions to their countries to protest Iran’s attack on
Israel overnight Saturday.The three countries all took part in Saturday
night’s effort, alongside the US and Israel, to intercept more than 300
Iranian drones and missiles heading toward Israeli airspace.The British
foreign ministry said in a statement that the chargé d’affaires at the
Iranian embassy in London was summoned in response to Iran launching an
attack on Israel.“The UK condemns in the strongest terms Iran’s direct
and unprecedented attack against Israel, as well as their violation of
Jordan and Iraq’s airspace. At a time of great tension in the Middle
East, this was a profoundly dangerous and unnecessary escalation by
Iran,” the ministry said.During the night of the attack, the country’s
defense ministry said British Royal Air Force jets in the Middle East
“will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing
missions, as required.”There were no initial reports on how many drones
the RAF stopped.French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said his
country will also summon the Iranian ambassador to France to protest the
Islamic Republic’s attack.“I have asked the foreign ministry to summon
the ambassador of Iran tomorrow to express… a message of firmness,”
Séjourné told the France 2 television channel, adding that it was “the
Iranians who attacked Israel.”IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari
confirmed on Sunday morning that France was also involved in Israel’s
defense, though he said he did not have exact details on whether French
jets had shot down any of the missiles launched by Iran.“France has very
good technology, jets, radar – and I know they were contributing in
patrolling airspace,” he said.Meanwhile, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman
Safadi said his country had summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest
against Iranian comments that were an interference in the kingdom’s
internal affairs.J’ai convoqué l’ambassadeur d’Iran en France
demain.Notre message doit être celui de la fermeté, pour assurer la
désescalade. pic.twitter.com/X2k2vRZ7Hq— Stéphane Séjourné
(@steph_sejourne) April 14, 2024-In remarks made to the state-owned
Mamlaka public broadcaster, Safadi referred to comments in Iran’s
official media in recent days that warned Jordan would be the next
target, in the event it cooperated with Israel in intercepting an
Iranian attack.While the US, Britain and France are military allies of
Israel, Jordan’s assistance in repelling the Iranian attack was a
dramatic show of support from Amman, which has heavily criticized
Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza against Hamas.Two regional
security sources said Jordan’s air force intercepted and shot down
dozens of Iranian drones that violated its airspace and were heading to
Israel.The IDF on Sunday said the Iranian attack, the Islamic Republic’s
first direct assault on Israel, included some 170 drones, 30 cruise
missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles. Hagari said Sunday that 99 percent
of the 300 or so projectiles fired by Iran at Israel overnight had been
intercepted by air defenses. According to Hagari, most of the missiles
were intercepted by the long-range Arrow air defense system, and were
mostly downed outside of Israeli airspace, he said, adding that fighter
jets also intercepted dozens of cruise missiles and dozens of
drones.Some of the missiles managed to bypass Israel’s defenses, hitting
the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel. Hagari said slight damage was
caused to some infrastructure at Nevatim, but the airbase was running as
usual.The US and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after
Iran said it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike this month
on what Tehran claims was a consular building in Syria that killed 12
people, including two senior Iranian generals in the Revolutionary
Guard’s elite Quds Force.
US official says Iran tried to cause
major damage but failed-‘Not seeking war’: White House stresses US won’t
join Israeli counterstrike on Iran-NYT reports Biden dissuaded PM from
launching response when they spoke after Iranian attack; senior American
official: Israel ‘made clear’ it’s not seeking ‘significant
escalation’By Jacob Magid-and Agencies Today, 11:34 pm-APR 14,24
US
President Joe Biden has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the
United States would not participate in any Israeli counteroffensive
against Iran, a senior administration official said on Sunday.Iran
launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday night in
response to a suspected Israel attack on Iran’s Syria consulate on April
1 that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members,
including two generals.In a statement issued late on Saturday following
the attacks, Biden said he told Netanyahu that Israel had “demonstrated a
remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented
attacks — sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot
effectively threaten the security of Israel.”Biden did not say in the
statement whether he and Netanyahu discussed a possible Israeli response
or potential US involvement, though the Axios news site reported
immediately after the call that the US president said he would oppose
any counterattack by Israel and that the premier should “take the
win.”“We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win,” Netanyahu said
Sunday morning in a brief statement, without mentioning a potential
Israeli response.A report by The New York Times said Biden dissuaded
Netanyahu from greenlighting an immediate retaliatory strike against
Iran. According to the report, several members of Israel’s war cabinet
had been in favor of launching a response, but the lack of serious
damage caused by Iran, in addition to Netanyahu’s conversation with
Biden, led to it being called off.In a briefing Sunday with reporters, a
senior administration official confirmed that Biden had told Netanyahu
that Israel had won this latest round against Iran.“Israel really came
out far ahead in this exchange. It took out the IRGC leadership in the
Levant, Iran tried to respond, and Israel clearly demonstrated its
military superiority, defeating this attack, particularly in
coordination with its partners,” the official said.The official said
Biden told Netanyahu that Israel must “think carefully and strategically
about the risk of escalation,” as it weighs how to respond to Iran’s
drone and missile attack.”The administration official was careful not to
say that the US opposes an Israeli military response to Iran’s attack.
However, he stressed in a briefing with reporters that the US would not
join Israel in such a strike.“Israel has made clear to us that they’re
not looking for a significant escalation with Iran. They’re looking to
protect themselves and defend themselves,” the senior administration
official said.How Israel responds to the Iranian strike is “a
calculation the Israelis have to make. This was an unprecedented attack
from Iran against Israel. At the same time, we think in the overall
exchange here, the Israelis came out very much on top,” he said.“We are
committed to defending Israel, [but] we would not be a part of any
response,” the official clarified.The official noted that Hamas hoped
Iran’s attack would advance the goal the terror group has had since its
October 7 onslaught of igniting a regional war, but “we’re going to
ensure that they do not succeed.”“We have disagreements with Israel on a
number of things, including in particular on Gaza. Those are things
we’re continuing to work through, but when it comes to the defense of
Israel against Iran the commitment truly is ironclad,” the official
added.The official also said Iran sent a message to the US via
Switzerland informing Washington that its attack on Israel had ended,
while denying reports that Tehran gave a 72-hour heads-up to Washington,
insisting the Islamic Republic sought to cause “significant damage in
Israel” but failed.“They might want to now say that what we didn’t mean
to [cause casualties], but if you launch 100 ballistic missiles
targeting certain locations — that was clearly their intent, they just
didn’t succeed,” the official said.“If successful, this attack could
have caused an uncontrollable escalation of broader regional conflict —
something we have worked day and night to avoid since October 7.”Despite
the lack of notification from Iran, US intelligence determined an
attack was imminent and Washington managed to get assets in place and
coordinate with partners to help Israel thwart the attack.“Our goal
remains to de-escalate immediately and halt any further attack… [But] if
Iran takes action against us, we’re fully prepared to defend our
people, our interests and to hold Iran accountable,” the official
declared.Earlier Sunday, John Kirby, the White House’s top national
security spokesperson, told ABC’s “This Week” program that the United
States will continue to help Israel defend itself, but does not want war
with Iran.Asked if the United States would support retaliation from
Israel in Iran, Kirby said that “our commitment is ironclad” to
defending Israel and to “helping Israel defend itself.”“And as the
president has said many times, we don’t seek a wider war in the region.
We don’t seek a war with Iran. And I think I will leave it at that,”
Kirby added.“We don’t seek escalated tensions in the region. We don’t
seek a wider conflict,” Kirby said.The Biden administration’s effort to
encourage Israel to show restraint mirrored its ongoing push to curtail
the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which is now in its seventh month, and to
do more to protect civilian lives in the territory.US Sen. John
Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has been one of Israel’s most vocal
Democratic defenders throughout the fighting in Gaza, criticized the
administration’s stance on an Israeli military response to Iran.“It’s
astonishing that we are not standing firmly with Israel and there should
never be any kind of conditions [on military aid],” he told CNN’s
“State of the Union” program.“We should follow and have Israel’s back in
this situation,” Fetterman added.Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top
Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the White
House for “leaking it to the press” that Biden told Netanyahu to take
the win and not retaliate.Rubio told CNN that it was “part of the White
House’s efforts to appease” people calling for a ceasefire in
Gaza.Meanwhile, leaders of G7 nations condemned Iran’s attack on Israel
and called for “restraint” from all sides. Biden said Saturday after
speaking with Netanyahu that he would use the intergovernmental forum to
“coordinate a united diplomatic response” to Iran’s “brazen” attack,
indicating a military response was not on the table, while also saying
the attack on Israel was only on military facilities.“We unanimously
condemned Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel,” European Council
President Charles Michel wrote on X, formerly Twitter, following video
talks. “We will continue all our efforts to work toward de-escalation.
Ending the crisis in Gaza as soon as possible, notably through an
immediate ceasefire, will make a difference.”In a joint statement
published by the Italian G7 presidency following the remote meeting, the
leaders said they condemned Iran’s attack “unequivocally condemn in the
strongest terms.” The G7 is made up of the US, Italy, Japan, Germany,
France, Britain and Canada.“We express our full solidarity and support
to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its
security,” they said. “With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward
the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable
regional escalation. This must be avoided.”They also pledged to keep
working “to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In
this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks,
and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to
further destabilizing initiatives.”“We will also strengthen our
cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work
towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of
hostages by Hamas, and [to] deliver increased humanitarian assistance to
Palestinians in need.”According to the senior Biden administration
official who briefed reporters Sunday, there was discussion during the
call among some G7 leaders on designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corp as a terror group as well as a new coordinated batch of
sanctions against Iran.No decisions were made, however, with European
Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen saying, “We will reflect on
additional sanctions against Iran… specifically on its drone and missile
programs.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Analysis-As
tensions between Israel and Iran rise, Gulf states seek to lower the
flames-Between diplomatic advances of recent years with warring parties
and being located geographically in the crossfire, Saudis and Emiratis
uniquely positioned to mediate calm-By Samia Nakhoul and Pesha Magid
Today, 10:35 pm
REUTERS – Gulf states are pushing to stop a
full-blown regional war after Iran’s unprecedented retaliatory strikes
on Israel, sources in the region said, fearing new escalation could put
them on the front lines of a conflagration and ruin plans to reshape the
region.Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in particular may be
well placed to triangulate between Iran, Israel, and the United States,
after diplomatic advances in recent years that benefited all those
countries.As allies of Washington, Gulf monarchies have sought to
stabilize ties with Iran and Israel to resolve longstanding security
concerns and allow them to focus on national projects.The UAE and
Bahrain signed a normalization deal with Israel in 2020 and Saudi Arabia
was considering a similar agreement also involving a US defense pact
until the Gaza war torpedoed diplomacy. Riyadh also buried the hatchet
with Iran last year, after years of feuding.However, the policy of
detente now faces its greatest ever threat, as the risk to wider
regional peace raised by Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in
Gaza since October 7 – when Hamas terrorists killed nearly 1,200 people,
mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253 – comes to a head.A direct war
between Israel and Iran could swiftly expand to Gulf states whose air
space lies between the pair, and which host several military bases of
the United States, which has vowed to defend its ally Israel.“Nobody
wants an escalation. Everybody wants to contain the situation,” said a
Gulf source close to government circles, adding that there was probably
wide telephone diplomacy under way.“The pressure is not on Iran alone.
The pressure is now on Israel not to retaliate,” said the source, adding
that the fallout of an Israeli attack on key Iranian sites “will affect
all the region.”Another Gulf source with knowledge of official thinking
said Gulf states, Iraq and Jordan are pushing both Iran and Israel’s
main backer, the United States, not to escalate. Washington was already
pressing Israel to show restraint, both sources said.At the same time,
the United States was using Gulf countries to convey messages to Iran
not to escalate any further, the source with knowledge of official
thinking added.“It is clear that America is using Gulf Arab allies to
convey messages between Iran and the Americans. Saudi Arabia is
maintaining contacts with Iran and there is an understanding to contain
things,” the source said.Reuters has requested comment from both Saudi
Arabia and the UAE on how they are handling the crisis.Still, both the
sources as well as analysts in the Gulf believed the most dangerous
moment may have passed.“The Iranians took their shot,” said Abdulaziz
al-Sager, head of the Gulf Research Center close to government circles,
indicating that for Tehran, the escalatory phase was over, and adding
that Washington did not want an escalation from Israel.Risks-There have
been many recent reminders of Gulf states’ vulnerability.Iran on
Saturday seized a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow stretch
of water through which most Gulf energy exports pass, and has
threatened to close shipping lanes there entirely.Meanwhile Yemen’s
Iran-backed Houthi group, against which Saudi Arabia was fighting for
years until moving towards a peace deal in December, has repeatedly
attacked shipping and deployed drones towards Israel, skirting Saudi
airspace in recent months.Before peace talks gained momentum last year,
the Houthis had attacked in recent years key Saudi Arabian energy
facilities several times and retain the capacity to do so again.In 2019,
they hit key facilities in Saudi Arabia that process the vast majority
of the country’s crude oil output and in 2022 they attacked three oil
tanker trucks in the UAE.“A conflagration will see the price of oil
shooting up. The traffic of oil will be affected,” the source said,
describing likely outcomes of a wider regional war.De facto Saudi ruler
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has for years tried to focus on his
ambitious vision to develop mega projects in the kingdom free from
geopolitical distractions.Saudi economic ambitions were at the heart of
Riyadh’s push for detente with Iran, but the kingdom was also very
concerned about security, said Saudi analyst Aziz Algashian.“It’s not
just about the projects in our prosperous region… It doesn’t want to be
caught in the crossfire between Israel, Iran, and the United States,” he
said.The war in Gaza had already put policies of entente under
strain.The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain made peace with Israel in
2020 through the so-called “Abraham Accords,” and Saudi Arabia was
considering following suit in return for US security
commitments.Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Iran last year put aside decades
of destructive feuding that had fueled conflicts around the region with
a deal to restore diplomatic ties and avoid harming each other’s
interests.But the devastation in Gaza has derailed further moves towards
peace with Israel, and Iran’s backing of regional Shiite Muslim allies
that have targeted US bases in Iraq and elsewhere has raised concerns in
the Gulf.The fact that detente might allow Gulf states to bring down
regional tensions was probably regarded in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi as
confirmation that their policy was working, Algashian said.“If there
wasn’t Saudi-Iranian normalization and rapprochement, Saudi Arabia would
be far more anxious right now,” he said.Times of Israel staff
contributed to this report.
Israel reopens airspace as airlines
cancel flights in wake of Iran attack-Israel Airports Authority says
most flights of foreign carriers have been delayed, while flights by
flag carrier El Al were able to take off to destinations in Europe-By
Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 9:56 pm-APR 14,24
Israeli airlines
said operations were returning to normal on Sunday after an
unprecedented missile and drone attack by Iran closed the airspace and
led to flight cancellations.Israel reopened its airspace as of 7:30 a.m.
on Sunday after the overnight assault, though flight schedules from Tel
Aviv were expected to be affected and travelers were advised to check
flight times before going to Ben Gurion Airport.Iran launched more than
300 projectiles at Israel –170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120
ballistic missiles — of which 99 percent were intercepted by Israeli and
allied countries’ air defenses, including the US, Britain, France and
Jordan.Flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines said it had resumed operations
and was “working to stabilize the flight schedule as soon as possible,”
as Israelis flocked to Ben Gurion Airport, traveling for the upcoming
Passover holiday.“El Al will continue to operate as much as possible to
preserve the air bridge to and from Israel,” it said.The airline had
cancelled 15 flights to Europe, Dubai and Moscow scheduled for Sunday,
while flights that had taken off from Bangkok and Phuket were forced to
return.Smaller Israeli carrier Arkia said it was making adjustments to
its flight schedule after initially postponing flights to Athens, Milan
and Geneva.According to the Airports Authority, most flights of foreign
carriers have been delayed, including Sunday flights to London by Wizz
Air, to New Delhi by Air India, to Madrid by Iberia, and to Marseille by
Air France.El Al’s flights to London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Bucharest,
Athens, Paris, and Rome, and Ethiopian Airline’s flight to Addis Ababa
were able to take off.Flights into Israel were also disrupted.Abu
Dhabi-based Etihad Airways canceled flights to Jordan and Israel on
Sunday, the airline said in a statement.Delays to flights-Swiss
International Air Lines has suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until
further notice, the airline said in a post on X on Sunday.Swiss, owned
by German carrier Lufthansa, said all of its planes were avoiding the
airspaces of Iran, Iraq, and Israel, causing delays to flights from
India and Singapore.In addition to Swiss, Lufthansa said its flights and
those of Austrian were also suspended to Tel Aviv, Amman and Erbil
until Tuesday. Air India also reportedly has temporarily halted flights
to Israel.With the Jewish festival of Passover next week, El Al said it
was offering rescue flights from Athens, Paris, London, Amsterdam,
Madrid, New York, and Miami, for Israelis stranded abroad by other
carriers.Its Sun Dor subsidiary is offering flights back to Israel from
Larnaca, Rhodes, Warsaw, and Krakow.Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon reopened
their airspaces on Sunday, after closing them late on Saturday.United
Airlines canceled both Saturday and Sunday’s planned flights from Newark
to Tel Aviv, the airline said in a statement. United is the only major
US airline to have resumed flights to Israel since the attacks by Hamas
on Israel in October last year.
Iranian media: Israel 'being
punished from four directions'Iran hails proxies for joining attack on
Israel; IDF strikes Hezbollah in response
Lebanese terror group,
Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iraqi militias fire projectiles at Jewish
state in tandem with launch of missiles and drones from Iranian soil-By
ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 9:05 pm-APR 15,24
Iran’s proxies in
the region joined its first-ever direct attack against Israel in the
early hours of Sunday morning, targeting the Jewish state with
projectiles fired in tandem to the Islamic Republic’s launch of drone
and missile swarms.Iranian media described the attack on Israel as
“complex,” as it also involved Iranian allies in Yemen, Lebanon and
Iraq.“This attack did not come from Iran only, and this regime [Israel]
is being punished from four directions,” the Tasnim news agency said.The
attack, which began late Saturday, followed repeated Iranian threats to
retaliate against Israel for a deadly April 1 strike on Tehran’s
Damascus consular building. A large wave of around 300 attack drones and
missiles triggered air raid sirens throughout the country early Sunday,
as the military worked to intercept the Iranian projectiles.It marked a
major escalation in the long-running covert war between the regional
foes, and came against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Israel
and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, from which Iranian proxies have targeted
the Jewish state in solidarity with the Palestinians.Hamas and Islamic
Jihad, another Gaza-based Palestinian terror group, are also supported
by Iran.Around the same time as Iran announced the attack, Lebanon’s
Hezbollah claimed to fire dozens of rockets at Israeli army positions in
the Golan Heights, setting off warning sirens in the northern community
of Snir.Hezbollah announced a second barrage hours later.Security firm
Ambrey said Yemen’s Houthi rebels also launched multiple drones at
Israel, in coordination with Iran, adding that the projectiles were
likely timed to reach Israel simultaneously.“Unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVS) were reportedly launched by the Houthis toward Israel. The UAVs
were launched in coordination with Iran,” the company said. “Israeli
ports are assessed to be potential targets,” it added, and warned of
“collateral damage” to shipping.Additionally, drones were launched from
Iraq, which IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said — like the UAVs
from Yemen — failed to reach Israel.In a statement on Sunday, Hezbollah
praised Iran’s attack on Israel, describing it as a “brave” decision
that initiated a “new phase” of the conflict with Israel and the
Palestinian cause, while claiming Tehran exercised its legal rights,
despite “threats, intimidation and pressure.”“The operation precisely
achieved its limited military objectives, despite the involvement of the
United States, its allies, and its regional tools in responding to the
stunning attack,” Hezbollah said in a statement. “The long-term
political and strategic objectives for this major development will be
successfully apparent over time.”The foreign minister of Syria, which is
also part of the Iran-led “axis of resistance,” called Iran’s action
against Israel a “legitimate act of self defense,” during a phone call
Sunday with his Iranian counterpart, Syrian state media reported.Earlier
in the day, the IDF said it struck a “significant weapons manufacturing
site” belonging to Hezbollah in the Nabi Chit area, near northeastern
Lebanon’s Baalbek, due to the Iran-backed terror group’s firing of some
40 rockets at northern Israel, during the overnight Iranian attack.The
Baalbek area, identified in the past as a Hezbollah stronghold, is
around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Israeli border.The army said
it also struck sites belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in
southern Lebanon’s Jbaa overnight, along with buildings used by the
terror group in Khiam and Kafr Kila in response to the overnight rocket
fire.Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli
communities and military posts along the border on a daily basis with
rockets, drones, anti-tank missiles and other means. Israel has
threatened to go to war to force Hezbollah away from the border if it
does not retreat and continues to threaten northern communities, from
where some 70,000 people were evacuated to avoid the fighting.So far,
the skirmishes on the border have resulted in eight civilian deaths on
the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 10 IDF soldiers and
reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any
injuries.Hezbollah has named 274 members who have been killed by Israel
during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, and some in Syria. In
Lebanon, another 53 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese
soldier, and at least 60 civilians, three of whom were journalists, have
been killed.Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
Ben Gvir:
We must 'go crazy'; Gantz: Respond when it suits us-Should Israel
launch an immediate retaliatory attack on Iran? Lawmakers are
divided-Some hard-right members of the government call for harsh
retaliation, while war cabinet members Gantz and Gallant issue more
measured statements, urging global alliance building-By Sam Sokol-Today,
8:34 pm-APR 14,24
Far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s government issued strident calls for Israel to react to
Iran’s attack on Israel with a show of force, while other moderate
members of the coalition, including war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz,
urged a balanced approach aimed at avoiding a spiraling escalation.While
some members of the security cabinet issued vehement calls for
retaliation, according to Hebrew media reports the security cabinet on
Saturday night authorized the narrow war cabinet — whose only voting
members are Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant — to make the ultimate decision on a response.In a
possible indication of how Israel will respond, Gantz on Sunday
afternoon declared that Israel must strengthen the “strategic alliance
and the regional cooperation” that allowed it to weather the Iranian
attack.“Faced with the threat of Iran, we will build a regional
coalition and exact the price from Iran, in the way and at the time that
suits us. And most importantly, in the face of the desire of our
enemies to harm us, we will unite and become stronger,” Gantz stated,
seemingly indicating that he does not support immediate retaliation
against Iran itself.“Even today, we must remember that we have not yet
completed our tasks – primarily the return of the hostages and the
removal of the threat against the residents of the north and south,” he
said. “We will continue the campaign, with determination and
responsibility. And together – we will win.”Meanwhile National Security
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanded a “crushing” counterattack in a series
of statements over the weekend, insisting that the only way to create
deterrence is to “go crazy” and shed “restraint and
proportionality.”“Israel’s response must not be a scarecrow, in the
style of the dune bombings we saw in previous years in Gaza,” the
far-right politician declared in a video message criticizing retaliatory
strikes against Gaza prior to October 7 as ineffective. “The concepts
of restraint and proportionality are concepts that passed away on
October 7.”Ben Gvir’s rhetoric was echoed by fellow ultranationalist
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who insisted in his own video that
now is the time to “restore deterrence.”“And now, the eyes of the entire
Middle East and the entire world are on the State of Israel. If our
response resonates throughout the Middle East for generations to come —
we will win,” he stated.“If we hesitate, God forbid, we will put
ourselves and our children in immediate existential danger,” Smotrich
warned, following up on a earlier statement calling on Israel to invade
the southern Gaza city of Rafah and “restore full Israeli control” over
the entire strip.These statements came after US news outlet Axios
reported that Biden had told Netanyahu he would oppose any Israeli
counterattack against Iran, that the US would not join any such attack,
and that the prime minister should “take the win.”Speaking on behalf of
Netanyahu, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs has reportedly called on
members of the government not to make public statements about Iran and
the United States, Hebrew media reported.Beyond Ben Gvir and Smotrich,
other security cabinet members also released aggressive, if not as
bellicose, statements following the attack.“We said that if Iran attacks
Israel, we will respond in Iran. This is still valid,” Channel 12
quoted Foreign Minister Israel Katz as saying while Transportation
Minister Miri Regev tweeted that Israel was “prepared to defend and
attack against Iran.”“Those who hurt us will pay a heavy price,” Regev
stated.Despite this, calls for an immediate strike against Iran were far
from universal, with even some hawkish members of the cabinet and
Knesset qualifying their demands for retaliation with calls not to rush
headlong into a regional conflict without sufficient
preparation.Praising the IDF and Israel’s allies, Likud’s Education
Minister Yoav Kisch declared that “calmly and judiciously, it’s time to
go on the attack,” while New Hope MK and former cabinet minister Gideon
Sa’ar — who has repeatedly urged Netanyahu to ramp up the war in Gaza —
insisted that last night’s attack “gave Israel room to maneuver and
strategic flexibility.”“You need to know how to adopt strategic patience
as well. Israel does not have to rush its response and disrupt the
order of priorities it has set for itself,” he tweeted, calling on
Israel to focus on “the defeat of Hamas and the release of the
hostages.”“This is the right and smart thing to do. Iran’s time will
come,” he stated.Even some usually hawkish MKs were more careful than
usual in their response, calling for the government to act, but falling
short of demanding an immediate strike on Iran itself.“Once you show
your weakness — you will not be able to survive for long” in the Middle
East, Yisrael Beytenu MK Evgeny Sova, a member of the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee, told The Times of Israel, declining to
specify how Israel should respond.“We must respond because in our
neighborhood they only understand power,” a spokesperson for National
Unity MK Matan Kahana said in a WhatsApp message. “We will determine
when, how, and where, and it will be in accordance with the interests of
the State of Israel.”Likud MK Dan Illouz told the Times of Israel that
“Israel must respond decisively, but also on our terms.”Asked how
members of the prime minister’s party were reacting to the attack and
what course of action they were demanding of Netanyahu, MK Danny Danon
responded that he believed that he “represent[ed] the sentiment of many
in the Likud [who believe] that we cannot ignore what happened.”But
while Danon said he believed it was necessary to retaliate as soon as
possible, he insisted that it is unhelpful to analyze According to the
Likud source, while sentiment within Likud is mostly in favor of a
retaliatory strike, there is no consensus, and the views within the
prime minister’s party likely have less weight than many pundits would
assume.“The only three people who will make a decision are Gallant,
Gantz, and Netanyahu,” the source said, referring to press reports that
the security cabinet had authorized the war cabinet to make decisions
regarding Israel’s response to the Iran attack.That means that the war
cabinet, which met on Sunday afternoon, will not have to return to the
security cabinet to get decisions approved, thereby streamlining the
process when quick decisions are required.“Beyond that, I don’t really
see anything other than political positioning,” the insider
stated.Ignoring Fuchs’s reported warning, only minutes after Gantz’s
statement, Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) released a
statement criticizing what he called a “weak response” to Iranian
aggression, calling it “the continuation of the outdated concept of
reasonable logic in the face of brutal terrorists.”“It failed against
Hamas and we got the 7th of October, it failed against Hezbollah, which
attacks us continuously and led to the evacuation of the residents of
the north, and it will fail against Iran, which did not hesitate to
attack Israel directly.”His criticism followed an earlier statement in
which he claimed that Israel had “broad international legitimacy… to
strike Iran with unprecedented force” following the attack, and urged a
response “against the head of the snake that is working to destroy
Israel.”Gallant also stressed the importance of building an anti-Iranian
alliance on Sunday.Touring one of the Arrow 3 air defense system
batteries that participated in last night’s interception of Iranian
ballistic missiles, Gallant stated that “we have an opportunity here to
establish a strategic alliance against this serious threat from Iran,
which threatens to put nuclear explosives on the heads of these
missiles.”“This thing could be a very serious threat. The US, Israel,
and its allies stand shoulder to shoulder to defend against this
threat,” Gallant said.Members of the opposition have advocated an
approach more similar to that of Gantz than that of Zohar, with outgoing
Labor chief Merav Michaeli asserting that Israel’s allies’ role in
thwarting the attack “proved once again how critical the strategic
alliance with the US and the countries of the region is to the security
of the State of Israel.”“Now the same people who incited against the
USA, against regional agreements and against the security establishment
are trying to tell them that it is time for a ‘decisive attack,’ without
realizing that there is no such thing as Israel alone in the face of
these threats,” she stated.“Don’t let them hide behind belligerent words
and lead us into a terrible and never-ending regional war. Such a war
is meant to serve Netanyahu, not the State of Israel. Now is the time to
take advantage of the momentum for a regional agreement that will stop
the war and bring our hostages home.”A spokesman for Opposition Leader
Yair Lapid declined to comment on his preferred response to the Iranian
attack, although the Yesh Atid chairman did tweet that “the world is
strongest when we stand united against the threat of terror, extremism
and the fanatical regime in Iran.”Asked why Lapid has stayed in the
United States over the weekend when his last meeting with a US official
was on Thursday, the spokesman confirmed that he was on the way back to
Israel, but provided no details of his activities over the
weekend.Emanuel Fabian and Times of Israel staff contributed to this
report.
Siren not triggered because there wasn't threat to
civilians-For 2nd time in days, IDF downs hostile drone over Eilat with
ship-mounted Iron Dome-Navy deploys C-Dome days after using it for first
time ever, intercepts drone over southernmost Israeli city believed to
have come from Yemen; no reports of injuries or damage-By Emanuel
Fabian-15 April 2024, 1:41 am
The IDF said it downed a hostile
drone flying over the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat on Sunday
night.There were no reports of injuries or damages as a result of the
interception. No sirens sounded in Eilat, as there was no threat to
civilians, the military said before later publishing footage of the
interception.It marked the second-ever successful interception carried
out by a ship-mounted Iron Dome missile defense system known as C-Dome,
with the first taking place less than a week earlier.Sunday’s UAV was
believed to have been launched from Yemen and was downed by a missile
fired from one of the Navy’s Sa’ar 6-class corvettes.The Navy’s Sa’ar
6-class corvettes are normally tasked with guarding the natural gas
platforms off Israel’s coast as well as its shipping lanes.Amid repeated
wartime cruise missile, drone, and ballistic missile attacks by the
Houthis, the Navy announced in December that it had also deployed the
INS “Magen” Sa’ar 6-class corvette to the Red Sea for the first
time.Reports of a C-Dome interceptor launch in the Eilat bay.
pic.twitter.com/3qxap96K9M— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian)
April 14, 2024-The C-Dome was deployed for the first time on April 8
after the military tracked a drone that had entered Israeli airspace
also near Eilat. There were no reports of damage or injuries in that
incident either.Much like the ground version of the Iron Dome, the
Defense Ministry says that the C-Dome is capable of downing rockets,
cruise missiles, and drones.The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a coalition
of Iran-backed paramilitary groups, claimed responsibility for the April
8 drone launch, claiming to have aimed at an unspecified “vital target”
in Israel as well as the Hatzerim Airbase near Beersheba.Recent months
have seen numerous attacks on the Eilat area carried out by Iran-backed
groups such as Yemen’s Houthis, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, and a
group in Syria linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.In November, a school in
Eilat was hit by a drone launched from Syria; in March, a cruise missile
fired from Yemen struck an open area north of the city; earlier this
month, a drone launched from Iraq struck a Navy hangar in the Eilat Bay;
and also this month, a drone struck an open area in Jordan near
southern Israel’s Ramon Airport.The Navy’s Sa’ar 6-class corvettes are
normally tasked with guarding the natural gas platforms off Israel’s
coast as well as its shipping lanes.Amid repeated wartime cruise
missile, drone, and ballistic missile attacks by the Houthis, the Navy
announced in December that it had also deployed the INS “Magen” Sa’ar
6-class corvette to the Red Sea for the first time.
Gazans flood
road to north after rumors of lifted checkpoint; IDF denies opening-Army
reiterates that Palestinians remain barred from moving to northern part
of Strip as it’s ‘still a combat zone,’ after ‘false reports’ claimed
residents could go home-By AFP and ToI Staff 15 April 2024, 1:11 am
Thousands
of Gazans flooded the coast road north on Sunday after hearing that
several people managed to cross a closed checkpoint towards Gaza City,
despite Israel denying it was open.An AFP journalist saw mothers holding
their children’s hands and families piling onto donkey carts with their
luggage as they made the journey.They hoped to cross a military
checkpoint on al-Rashid road south of Gaza City, but the Israeli army
told AFP that reports the route had opened were “not true.”On the other
side, desperate families waited for their loved ones in the rubble of
the battered main city in the Palestinian territory.Mahmoud Awdeh said
he was waiting for his wife, who has been in the southern city of Khan
Younis since October 7, when Hamas launched a devastating terror
onslaught against Israel that sparked the ongoing war.“She told me over
the phone that people are leaving the southern part and heading to the
north,” Awdeh said.“She told me she’s waiting at the checkpoint until
the army agrees to let her head to the north,” he said, hoping she would
be able to cross safely.During the day rumors also spread that the
Israeli army was allowing women, children and men over 50 to go to the
north, a claim denied by the army.“Further to the reports that IDF
forces are allowing the return of residents to the north of the Gaza
Strip, these are false reports,” the IDF said in a statement.“The IDF
will not allow the return of residents either through the Salah A-Din
axis or through the Rashid axis [the coast]. The northern area of the
Gaza Strip is still a combat zone and it will not be possible to return
to it,” the military added.Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s
Arabic-language spokesman, warned Gazans to avoid using the road to the
north.“For your safety, do not approach the forces operating there. The
northern Gaza Strip area is still a war zone and we will not allow a
return to it,” Adraee wrote in a post on X.Since Israel launched its
offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack atrocities in October,
the army has besieged the territory, telling Gazans to leave some areas
and preventing them from moving across the narrow Strip.More than 1.5
million Palestinians have taken refuge in the southern city of Rafah,
according to the United Nations.Several Gazans said they came under
attack on the route and AFP footage showed people ducking for cover.The
Palestinian official news agency Wafa accused Israeli forces of having
“bomb(ed) displaced Palestinians as they were trying to return to the
north of Gaza Strip through Al Rasheed street.”Wafa shared a video on X
which AFP has not verified showing people running away from a
blast.Nour, a displaced Gazan, told AFP: “When we arrived at the
(Israeli) checkpoint, they would let women pass or stop them, but they
shot at men so we had to return, we didn’t want to die.”The IDF did not
immediately respond to comment on those allegations.Elsewhere in Gaza,
the fighting continued on Sunday after Iran launched a huge drone and
missile attack on Israel overnight.Iran’s first-ever direct assault on
Israeli territory came in retaliation for a deadly strike on the Iranian
consulate in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps members, including two generals, an attack that Tehran blamed
Jerusalem for.But in Rafah on Sunday, Palestinians told AFP they were
underwhelmed by Iran’s attack on Israel.“The Iranian response came so
late, after 190 days of war,” Khaled Al Nems told AFP. “You can see our
suffering.”“Their response is too little too late,” he added.Walid Al
Kurdi, a displaced Palestinian living in Rafah, said that “Iran’s attack
on Israel is not really our business.”“The only thing we care about is
going back to our homes,” he said.“We are waiting for the coming 48
hours to see if (Israel) responds to Iran, or if they are playing with
us and want to distract attention away from Rafah.”Israel has said it
plans to send ground forces into Rafah to eradicate the remaining Hamas
terrorists there.
Iran says its fight is with Israel, warns US
'must stay away' UN Security Council to meet Sunday for emergency talks
on Iran’s attack against Israel-Israeli envoy requests body condemn
unprecedented Iranian missile and drone strikes, list IRGC as terror
group; Biden stresses backing for Israel as world leaders denounce
Tehran-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 5:49 am-APR 14,24
The
United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Sunday
over Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, the body’s
president said.A spokesperson for Malta, which holds the rotating
presidency this month, told the press Saturday evening that the Security
Council was aiming for the meeting to be held at 4:00 p.m. (11 p.m.
Israel time) Sunday after Israel requested the council condemn Iran’s
attack and designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist
organization.Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired
missiles at Israel late on Saturday in its first-ever direct attack on
Israeli territory, risking a major regional escalation as the United
States pledged “ironclad” backing for Israel.The Iranian strikes came as
Tehran’s proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen have carried out a
flurry of attacks on Israeli and Western targets since October 7, when
Iran-backed Hamas launched a devastating terror onslaught in southern
Israel, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.Israel’s envoy to the UN, in a
letter to the Security Council president, called Iran’s air assault a
“flagrant violation of Israel’s sovereignty.”“Today, Iran has launched a
direct attack from within its territory of more than 200 [drones],
cruise missiles and ballistic missiles towards Israel,” Israeli
Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan wrote.“The attack is a severe and
dangerous escalation.”In a post on X, he also called the Iranian attack
“a serious threat to global peace and security and I expect the council
to use every means to take concrete action against Iran.”Iran’s mission
to the UN earlier issued a warning to both Israel and the US “should the
Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be
considerably more severe,” it wrote online. “It is a conflict between
Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US MUST STAY AWAY!”It
also claimed the attack was a legitimate act of self-defense under the
UN charter, saying “Iran’s military action was in response to the
Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in
Damascus.” The diplomatic mission was referring to an alleged Israeli
strike in the Syrian capital that killed seven IRGC members, including
two generals.“The matter can be deemed concluded.”Meanwhile, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden
early Sunday, his office said, after wrapping up security cabinet and
war cabinet meetings at the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel
Aviv. The conversation lasted for around 25 minutes, according to
Israeli television.There was no immediate readout from the White House
on the call, which was held after Biden convened a principals meeting of
the National Security Council to discuss the attack. The US president
returned to Washington earlier in the day after cutting short his
weekend stay in Delaware.“Our commitment to Israel’s security against
threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Biden said on X after
the National Security Council meeting.The Iranian attack was also
denounced by numerous countries and international organizations, who
warned the attack threatened to further destabilize the Middle
East.United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement condemned
the “reckless” strikes, which he said “risk inflaming tensions and
destabilizing the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is
intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”The European Union’s foreign
affairs chief Josep Borrell called the attack “an unprecedented
escalation and a grave threat to regional security” in a message on X.UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “the serious escalation
represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic
Republic of Iran.”“I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a
devastating region-wide escalation,” he added, calling on parties to
“avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on
multiple fronts in the Middle East.”France’s Foreign Minister Stephane
Sejourne on X said that “in deciding to take this unprecedented action,
Iran has reached a new level in its acts of destabilization and is
risking a military escalation.”Berlin’s top diplomat also warned the
attack would have a destabilizing effect, and urged Tehran to halt the
strikes.“We condemn the ongoing attack — which could plunge an entire
region into chaos — in the strongest possible terms,” German Foreign
Minister Annalena Baerbock said on X.“Iran and its proxies must stop
this immediately,” she continued, adding that Berlin stands “firmly by
Israel.”Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa
that his country “unequivocally condemns Iran’s airborne attacks,”
adding: “We stand with Israel.”“After supporting Hamas’s brutal October 7
attack, the Iranian regime’s latest actions will further destabilize
the region and make lasting peace more difficult,” he added.The office
of Argentine President Javier Milei expressed in a statement its
“solidarity and unwavering commitment” to Israel in the face of the
attacks.It added that Argentina “emphatically supports the State of
Israel in the defense of its sovereignty, especially against regimes
that promote terror,” noting an Argentine court recently held Iran
responsible for deadly bomb attacks on the Israeli embassy and a Jewish
community center in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.Cairo’s foreign ministry
expressed its “deep concern” at the escalation of hostilities and called
for “maximum restraint,” without explicitly condemning Tehran.The
ministry’s statement also warned of the “risk of the regional expansion
of the conflict,” and added that Egypt would be “in direct contact with
all parties to the conflict to try and contain the situation.”The Saudi
foreign ministry issued a statement voicing its concern at the “military
escalation” and calling on “all parties to exercise utmost restraint
and spare the region and its peoples from the dangers of war.”It went on
to urge the UN Security Council “to assume its responsibility towards
maintaining international peace and security.”The statement did not
mention either Israel nor Iran — let alone condemn Tehran for its attack
against the Jewish state.
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