Condemnations trail attack
The Israeli army said Sunday that Iran’s attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been “foiled”, with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight.
“The Iranian attack was foiled,” Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Hagari said, and “only a few” ballistic missiles reached Israel.
One of them “lightly hit the Nevatim base”, he added, noting that the military compound was “still functioning”.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement: “Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel.”
“The campaign is not over yet -– we must remain alert”, Gallant added.
The world reacts
Western powers condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel late Saturday, warning the attack threatened to escalate the destabilisation of the Middle East.
Here are some of the main reactions so far:
United States: ‘ironclad’
US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson reiterated President Joe Biden’s “ironclad” support for Israel’s security.
“The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran,” she said in a statement.
She said “President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation.”
EU: ‘unprecedented’
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell condemned the strikes as “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security,” in a message on X.
Britain: ‘reckless’
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement condemned the “reckless” strikes that he said “risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”
France: ‘new level’
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 destabilisation and is risking a military escalation.”
Italy: ‘concern’
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his country was following the situation “with attention and concern” and was “ready to manage any kind of scenario”.
AFP
