Israel weighs response to Iran attack
Diplomats scramble to calm Mideast tensions
Israel’s foreign minister on Tuesday said he’s leading a “diplomatic offensive” against Iran following Saturday’s unprecedented attack on Israel and amid global efforts to calm tensions between the two counties to prevent a wider war in the Middle East.
Israel Katz said in a social media post that he’s calling for sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization” ... “to curb and weaken Iran.” Katz’s efforts included sending letters to 32 countries and conversations with dozens of foreign ministers.
“Iran must be stopped now − before it is too late,” he said.
Other diplomatic efforts were being carried out to calm tensions between the two foes on Tuesday. In Brussels, the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council was set to meet as were the foreign ministers for Germany and Jordan in Berlin.
“It is incredibly important for us as the German federal government in these fragile times that we all work together to contribute to de-escalation for the entire region,” Baerbock said at a news conference with her Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.
Israel’s War Cabinet was scheduled to meet Tuesday for at least the third time in three days to weigh a response to Iran’s missile and drone blitz, which was launched over a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria. The April 1 attack killed seven Iranian military officers.
Military chief of staff Herzi Halevi has said the Iranian attack “will be met with a response.” No decision has been announced.
President Joe Biden said the U.S. – which along with Israel and Jordan intercepted hundreds of missiles and drones launched from Iran – will continue to defend its ally but will not be part of any retaliatory measure against Iran for Saturday’s attack.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Tuesday that Tehran will respond to any action against its interests, Reuters reported, citing the Iranian Student News Agency.
“We categorically declare that the smallest action against Iranian interests will certainly be met with a severe, widespread and painful response against any perpetrator,” Raisi told the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Pro-Palestine protests snarl traffic in US cities
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked bridge traffic in San Francisco and New York and prompted some air travelers in Chicago to ditch their rides and reach the airport on foot as coordinated protests caused disruptions across several cities in the U.S. and internationally Monday.
The organizing A15 Action group said on its website that “the global economy is complicit in genocide and together we will coordinate to disrupt and blockade economic logistical hubs and the flow of capital.”
That meant shutting down the Golden Gate Bridge during the morning commute, snarling traffic into and out of San Francisco for hours. A group carrying a banner that read “Stop the world for Gaza” was eventually cleared off. Across the bay in Oakland, protesters forced the closure of two sections of Interstate 880, using weighted barrels to block the road.
In New York, hundreds of demonstrators halted afternoon traffic by clogging the Brooklyn Bridge, bringing on a large police response. And in Chicago, the highway that goes into O’Hare Airport was jammed by a protest, leading several passengers to walk to the terminal with their luggage.
Road blockages from protests were also reported in Philadelphia, San Antonio, Texas, and Eugene, Oregon − where 52 demonstrators were arrested − in addition to Ottawa, Ontario.
In Italy, an artist representing Israel at the Venice Biennale art fair, said she was refusing to open the national pavilion until a cease-fire and hostage deal was reached. “I feel that the time for art is lost,” Ruth Patir wrote in a statement on Instagram, explaining why she and the exhibits’ two curators had decided to shutter the show. “And so if I am given such a remarkable stage, I want to make it count.”
More than 33,800 people have been killed and over 76,000 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities. The war was launched in response to Hamas attacks on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 people taken hostage, according to Israel’s tally. About 133 hostages remain captive.
Over 10,000 Palestinian women killed in Gaza war, UN says
A new U.N. report estimates over 10,000 Palestinian women – including more than 6,000 mothers – have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza.
The report released Tuesday said more than 19,000 children have been orphaned and that over 1 million women still in Gaza are facing a barrage of threats amid a worsening humanitarian disaster.
“Women who have survived have been displaced, widowed and facing starvation,” the U.S. report says. “More than one million women and girls in Gaza have almost no food, no access to safe water, latrines, washrooms, or sanitary pads, with disease growing amidst inhumane living conditions.”
After scrutiny from the U.S. and global outrage over the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel said last week that it had opened a northern crossing and that it would open a port in southern Israel to receive and deliver aid shipments.
The U.N. on Tuesday said “Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance” and that distribution remains a large barrier to getting desperately needed aid and supplies into the hands of Palestinian civilians.
“The High Commissioner repeats that there must be an immediate ceasefire, the hostages must be released, and full, unfettered humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow immediately,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, said at a briefing in Geneva.
Contributing: Susan Miller, Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY; Reuters