Threatening escalation in the Middle East: Pressure on Israel to moderate response to Iranian attack

According to a media report, partners in the region have called on Israel to exercise restraint in its response to an expected attack by Iran and its allies. Israel should not “overstep the mark” so that the situation does not degenerate into a regional war, was the message from the US-led partners, according to the Israeli Kan broadcaster.

The Israeli military is currently on high alert. The country is expecting a retaliatory strike from Iran and its allies in the region. Tehran had announced a “harsh punishment” for Israel after the political leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, Ismail Haniya, was deliberately killed in the Iranian capital Tehran last week. Iran and Hamas blame Israel for the attack. Just a few hours earlier, Israel killed the high-ranking Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in the Lebanese capital Beirut in an air strike. The Shiite Hezbollah militia is one of Iran’s most loyal allies.

Israel can count on the support of the United States and other allies when it comes to intercepting rockets, cruise missiles and drones from Iran and its proxy groups with modern defense systems.

There was no major escalation in April

This is what happened in mid-April during the first direct attack on Israel from Iranian soil. Israel was able to intercept most of the more than 300 missiles on its own and with the help of the USA and other allies. According to media reports, a new attack by Iran is imminent.

According to the broadcaster Kan, the message to Israel was: “Think carefully before you strike back.” And: “The ultimate goal is not to trigger a full-scale war.”

In April, Israel’s reaction was very limited, and a major escalation therefore did not occur. According to Kan, the USA, Great Britain, France, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain helped to repel the attack by the Iranian axis.

Report: Iran moves missile launchers, holds military exercises

The Wall Street Journal quoted US government officials as saying that they had observed Iran moving missile launchers and conducting military exercises since the weekend. This could indicate that Tehran is preparing for an attack in the coming days.

According to a media report, Russia has begun supplying Iran with modern radar systems and air defense equipment. Tehran had previously requested modern air defense systems from Russia in preparation for a possible war with Israel, the New York Times reported, citing two Iranian officials. The delivery has begun, it was said, following talks between the Secretary of the Russian National Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, and high-ranking Iranian representatives.

Meanwhile, Tehran wants to discuss the killing of Hamas’ foreign chief Haniya with other Islamic countries. To this end, an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is planned for Wednesday at the level of foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia, where the OIC is based. The meeting in Jeddah will focus on the “crimes of the Israeli occupation”, including the “murder” of Haniya, said the OIC, which has 57 Islamic countries as members.

Five dead in Israeli attack in Lebanon – possible evacuations

Meanwhile, there were more deaths in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. Five people were killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon. The Ministry of Health announced that further victims were being searched for under the rubble of houses near the town of Nabatiya. Lebanese security sources said that four Hezbollah members had been killed. Israel’s military said it had attacked a Hezbollah military facility. Nabatiya is ten kilometers from the Israeli border.

According to media reports, a man was critically injured and a woman was slightly injured almost simultaneously in the northern Israeli coastal town of Nahariya. Israel’s army initially announced that several “enemy drones” had come from Lebanon. One of them was intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system. It was later reported that, according to an initial investigation, the civilians had apparently been injured by an Israeli defense missile, not by a Hezbollah drone. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel have been waging a low-level war near their shared border for months.

In view of the worsening situation, the German armed forces are prepared for a major operation to evacuate German citizens. For this purpose, A400M transport aircraft and soldiers are being kept ready at the air base in Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, and can take off at short notice, as the German Press Agency was told on Monday. The navy is also making preparations. The operation could primarily involve the evacuation of Germans who have remained in Lebanon despite repeated calls to leave. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on all Germans in the region to “take our travel warnings seriously”.

Eleven Palestinians killed in operations in the West Bank

Meanwhile, according to Palestinian sources, at least eleven Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations in the West Bank. Four people were killed overnight in Aqaba in the northwest of the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry. The Israeli army did not initially comment on the incident.

The Israeli Air Force later reported that “armed terrorist cells” had been attacked from the air in two cases in the city of Jenin. According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, at least four people were killed in the attacks. Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. The situation in the West Bank has worsened significantly since the start of the Gaza war following the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023.