Israel's military chief says that Israel will respond to Iran's weekend missile attack

Israel’s military chief declared on Monday that his nation will retaliate for Iran’s strike over the weekend, but he did not specify when or how. This came as international leaders advised against reprisal in an effort to prevent a Middle East conflict spiral.

The Iranian attack on Saturday was a reaction to an alleged Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals two weeks prior on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Despite decades of animosity stemming from the nation’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, it was the first time Iran has launched a direct military attack on Israel.

Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. According to the Israeli military, 99% of the drones and missiles were intercepted by Israel’s own aeroplanes and air defences, working in tandem with a coalition of allies lead by the United States.

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Although Israel is thinking about its next course of action, Israeli military leader Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi stated on Monday that the Iranian strike “will be met with a response.”

Halevi did not elaborate. According to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the army, Israel would react “at the time that we choose.”

The two officers were speaking at the southern Israeli air base of Nevatim, which Hagari said had only little damage from the Iranian strike.

To plan a potential reaction, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been conferring with senior officials. For a second straight day, the government made no announcements on any decisions.

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In a conversation with US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Netanyahu said that “Israel will do whatever is required to defend itself,” the prime minister’s office announced.

While Israeli leaders have hinted at retaliation, the government is under heavy international pressure not to further escalate the conflict — especially after the Iranian strike caused such little damage.

The US has urged Israel to show restraint as it seeks to build a broad diplomatic response.

While Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said any response is up to Israel to decide, he added: “We don’t want to see escalation, but we obviously will take necessary measures to protect our forces in the region.”

Pressed at a briefing about whether such a response would jeopardize stability in the region, Ryder said the US will “stay in close consultation with our Israeli partners, as we have done throughout the weekend. Again, we don’t seek wider regional conflict.”

The US also has been working in recent years to strengthen ties between Israel and moderate Arab states in an alliance to counter Iran.

Much of that cooperation has been under the umbrella of the US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East. Centcom works closely with militaries across the region, including Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.

The US, Britain and Jordan — a key American ally in the region — have all said their air forces helped intercept the Iranian missiles and drones. Halevi said France and “other partners” were involved, and he noted that “Iran’s attack has created new opportunities for cooperation in the Middle East.”

The Iranian weapons also flew through Saudi skies, according to a map released by the Israeli military. Israel says most of the interceptions took place outside of Israeli airspace, indicating at least tacit cooperation with the Saudis.

A unilateral Israeli strike could strain these behind-the-scenes contacts, particularly with countries like Saudi Arabia that do not have official diplomatic relations with Israel. It also could risk opening a new front with Iran at a time when Israel is bogged down in a six-month war inside Gaza against Hamas militants.

Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout the Gaza war. The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 33,700 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and caused widespread devastation.

Throughout the war, Israel has traded fire across its northern border with Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, while Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen have also attacked Israel. The friction has kept up fears of a potentially destructive all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, or a broader direct confrontation between Israel and Iran.

World leaders pressed Israel not to strike Iran.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “all sides must show restraint” to avoid a rising spiral of violence in the Middle East. French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris will try to “convince Israel that we must not respond by escalating.”

In Washington, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to say Monday whether the US had been or expects to be briefed on any Israeli response plans. “We will let the Israelis speak to that,” he said.

“We are not involved in their decision-making process about a potential response,” Kirby said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US doesn’t seek escalation but said it would continue to support Israel’s security. He pledged to step up the diplomatic efforts against Iran.

“Strength and wisdom need to be different sides of the same coin,” he said.