Israel Military Vows Response as Western Nations urge Restraint

Western leaders are anxiously waiting on Israel after its military leaders vowed to respond to Saturday’s attack - with fears any retaliation could escalate the Middle East conflict.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours to weigh a response to Iran’s massive weekend missile and drone attack.

It came as the country’s military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said that the attack from Tehran “will be met with a response”.

And on Tuesday, President Ebrahim Raisi went further to say “any action against its [Iran] interests” would be met with “a severe, widespread and painful response”.

Meanwhile, western leaders are urging Israel to show restraint, with US President Joe Biden telling Mr Netanyahu that his armed forces would not participate in an Israeli counter-strike.

On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak is also set to urge Mr Netanyahu to show restraint. In a Commons statement, Mr Sunak said he would “express our solidarity with Israel in the face of this attack” and “discuss how we can prevent further escalation”.

Due to the fragile situation in the Middle East, budget airline EasyJet has suspended flights to Israel until 27 October. The company had only recently restarted flights to Tel Aviv following the 7 October attacks.

After Iran’s unprecedented missile attack on Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu must consider his next move dispassionately, says Israel’s leading foreign affairs adviser Alon Pinkas. To return fire would lead almost inevitably to a region-wide conflict – but the shocks would also be felt around the world, from the US to China