Occupied Jerusalem – (Agencies): The Israeli army announced yesterday, Sunday, that Iran had fired missiles towards Israel for the first time since the ceasefire declared on April 8. It announced that its missile strikes on Israel were a “warning” in response to its bombing of the southern suburb of Beirut, warning that any other attack would be met with a “stronger response.” For his part, US President Donald Trump said that he will call Netanyahu now and ask him not to respond. Trump added: “The Iranian strikes did not lead to casualties, and we hope that Israel will not retaliate.” !
Trump said: “We are very close to reaching a final agreement with Iran. It would be a good deal. “I don’t want him to collapse because of what’s happening now.”
An Israeli army statement said: “Alarms were activated in a number of areas inside the country, after monitoring missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel.” He explained that sirens sounded in large areas of northern and central Israel, including the cities of Haifa, Caesarea, and Hadera. A few minutes after its first statement, the army issued two additional statements, in which it indicated that two new batches of Iranian missiles had been detected. He stressed: “So far, the Air Force has intercepted all missiles launched from Iran,” adding: “Air defense systems continue to identify and intercept threats.” Following the bombing, the Ministry of Education and the Army’s Home Front Command said that “after assessing the situation… educational activities cannot be conducted” on Monday. !
For its part, the Iranian Armed Forces Command said yesterday, Sunday, that Israel “crossed all red lines” by striking the southern suburb of Beirut, stressing the necessity of stopping Israeli attacks on Lebanon. !
The commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, the central operations room of the Iranian Armed Forces, Ali Abdullah Aliabadi, said: “(The Zionist army) must stop its attacks on southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs, and if it expands its attacks or responds to the Iranian action, it will face more crushing and destructive strikes,” without any direct reference to the launch of batches of missiles that Israel said it intercepted. !
Axios quoted US President Donald Trump as saying that he would ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to respond to Iran. According to the website, Trump said that he would call Netanyahu now and ask him not to respond. Trump added: “The Iranian strikes did not lead to casualties, and we hope that Israel will not retaliate.”
For his part, an Axios correspondent reported that Trump said: “If Netanyahu responds with a strike, the situation will continue as it has been for the past 47 years, or even for the past 3,000 years.” Trump added: “We are very close to reaching a final agreement with Iran. It would be a good deal. I don’t want him to collapse because of what’s happening now.” Trump confirmed: “I will call Netanyahu now and ask him not to respond. They both enjoyed what they had. “Israel and Iran, we don’t need another strike.”
Earlier, Trump commented on the missiles launched by Iran towards Israel, calling on Tehran to stop the escalation and return to negotiations. Trump said in statements to Fox News: “You fired your missiles… that’s enough,” adding that what he is proposing to Iran is “to return to the negotiating table and conclude an agreement.”
Earlier yesterday, the Israeli army said that it launched an attack on infrastructure belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah group in the southern suburb of Beirut in response to the group’s shooting into northern Israel, which raised fears of a new escalation in the war between them. With the exception of two air strikes last month, Israel stopped its bombing of the southern suburb of Beirut after the United States announced a ceasefire on April 16. However, this truce did not stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
In a joint statement with the Minister of Defense, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the raid on the southern suburb of Beirut came in response to Hezbollah firing towards Israel. The official Lebanese media reported that two people were martyred and 11 others were injured, according to a preliminary toll. Lebanese security sources said that residents who returned to the suburb in recent weeks began to leave again for fear of a new escalation that could cause serious damage to the area.
