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Iran says it will target Israel after the weekend attack

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Tensions in the Middle East showed no signs of easing on Monday as a senior Iranian military official vowed that Israel would face “bitter and unimaginable consequences” for its weekend attack on military targets that killed at least four Iranian soldiers.

Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the attack showed Israel's “miscalculation and its frustration on the battlefield” in Gaza and Lebanon. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei echoed Salami's statements, saying Iran would “use all available means.” “to respond to Israel’s attack.

Baghaei said the Islamic Republic was “committed to respond decisively” despite diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions in the region. Iran had previously downplayed Israel's airstrike on Saturday, saying it caused limited damage. The US has warned Iran against an escalation in fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said all Israeli military objectives had been achieved. The Israeli military said it severely damaged factories producing long-range ballistic missiles while destroying air defense batteries.

The strikes were in retaliation for an Oct. 1 Iranian rocket fire that caused little damage to Israel. This attack was in response to the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, for which Iran blamed Israel.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the Israeli attack should not be “exaggerated or downplayed” and deferred the decision on retaliation to government officials. President Masoud Pezeshkian said only that Iran would counter with an “appropriate response.”

Developments:

∎ The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss Israel's attack on Iran. The Swiss UN mission said the meeting was requested by Iran with support from Algeria, China and Russia. Iraq has filed a complaint with the United Nations over Israel's use of its airspace in the attack.

∎ The Palestinian death toll since the Israeli invasion of Gaza has exceeded 43,000 and more than 100,000 have been injured, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said.

Israel strikes back in Iran: The US says it was not involved

The Israeli military withdrew from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, ending a raid on the “Hamas-established terrorist headquarters” in Jabaliya, military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a social media post.

Shoshani said weapons, cash and intelligence documents were confiscated in and around the hospital. Last week the military surrounded the hospital and entered it over the weekend. Some militants barricaded themselves in the hospital and about 100 were arrested – including some who the military said had tried to escape during the evacuation of civilians.

Gaza's Health Ministry denied any presence of militants at the hospital. The ministry accused the Israelis of detaining all male medical staff at the hospital and locking women in hospital rooms without food or water. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, described the situation in the northern Gaza Strip as “catastrophic.”

Israeli aircraft attacked the ancient Lebanese city of Tire on Monday after the military issued an evacuation call for parts of the coastal region, media in Lebanon and Israel reported. A salvo of around 30 rockets had previously been fired from Lebanon at Israel.

Despite increasing airstrikes between Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Tire was considered safe until recently. But Israeli airstrikes this week ripped off the facades of buildings, left debris on the streets and raised fears the city was unsafe. As a result, tens of thousands of residents have fled.

Israel's parliament voted on Monday to ban UNRWA, the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees, raising fears that it will worsen Gaza's dire humanitarian crisis.

Israeli officials pointed to the involvement of a handful of thousands of U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees employees in last year's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, as well as the alleged membership of some employees in Hamas and other armed groups.

“UNRWA staff involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable,” Netanyahu said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters the U.S. was “deeply concerned” about the legislation.

“UNRWA plays a critical and important role in providing humanitarian assistance to civilians who need it in Gaza,” Miller said.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the vote was a contradiction to the United Nations Charter and a violation of international law.

“This is the latest part of the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role in providing human development assistance and services to Palestine refugees,” Lazzarini said in a statement. “These draft laws will only worsen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where people have been going through hell for more than a year.”

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Contribution: Reuters

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