 24, only in I-24 News. Evening on I-24 News. International pressure on Israel to not respond to the overnight Iranian attack. But some factions say that no response would be an existential threat to Israel. A show of strength by the IDF, as hundreds of cruise missiles and drones, failed to pass through its air defense system. Amas has officially rejected the proposed hostage deal. The IDF is inching closer to an operation in Rafa. The Jordanian military intercepts missiles and drones headed to Israel, making Middle Eastern history. A wide show of support for Israel from Western countries. In Iran, celebrations were held in a parliament before they rushed to buy gas for fear of an Israeli retaliation. And Ben-Gurion Airport is back fully functioning after hundreds of flights were canceled. Good evening. I'm Erie Michaili and you're watching I-24 News live from Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for being with us. Israel is assessing the aftermath of an unprecedented aerial attack launched by Iran and its proxies in the region. Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. Israel and its allies intercepted and repelled most of the Iranian barrage outside of Israeli airspace. United States President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Saturday night and reportedly informed him that the U.S. will not back a counter-attack against Iran. Jonathan Regev with the details. It is no longer the so-called CBW no more campaign between the wars. From now on, it's a full-on war. Last night, Iran launched an attack on Israel with more than 300 threats of various kinds. The numbers are astonishing. 185 UAVs, 36 cruise missiles and 110 ballistic missiles were launched, the vast majority of them from the Iranian territory, with a few coming from Iraq and Yemen. What is far more impressive is the fact that nearly all of them were intercepted on their way, most of them not even reaching Israeli airspace. We intercepted 99 percent of the threats launched towards Israeli territory. That's a very significant strategic success. Strategic success indeed, but there's no such thing as 100 percent defensive protection. A few missiles did get through the multi-layered defensive system. A seven-year-old girl was severely injured from an impact in the south, and minor damage was reported not far from there in the Neva team air force base. Shortly afterwards though, the F-35s were seen landing in Neva team, proving it is completely operational. The incredible amount of interceptions are a clear Israeli success story, but Israel did not do it on its own. The whole world saw what the strength of a coalition is. How Israel, along with the United States and other countries, stands up and deflects this attack in an unprecedented way. States Britain and France actively and publicly participated in the effort beneath the surface. Jordan and Saudi Arabia also assisted. They too are concerned by the Iranian influence in the region. The whole world saw this night who Iran is, a terrorist state that attacks the state of Israel from a distance of 1,500 kilometers and tries to activate all of its proxies. The big question now is what comes next. Israel may be obliged to react in some way, but those same international partners who were there to help last night are asking Jerusalem to refrain from retaliation. The next Israeli step will determine the fate of this war. Earlier today, Israel's war cabinet met at IDF headquarters to discuss the possible response to this latest attack. Our correspondent, Balil Sladeen of the I-24 News Arabic Channel is there. Balil, what are you hearing? Yes, so definitely behind me in the Keryah, the IDF headquarters here. The cabinet is meeting right now where, of course, Netanyahu is there with guns, gallant and other heads of the security branches of Israel. The decisions are yet to be clear, but the dilemmas are more obvious, to say the least. So the first dilemma that we can talk about is, of course, the fact that Israel is still at war in Gaza with Hamas and it's yet to achieve its goals after all. And opening another front with Iran, of course, would require lots of resources as well as attention, and that's something that, of course, Israel needs somewhere else. And the second thing is the big question. Will the U.S. join such an attack? What we're hearing from reports and what you have said as well. The Biden and Netanyahu call yesterday night was about the fact that the U.S. will not support actually an Israeli attack. According to Xios, Biden said to Netanyahu, you've got a win, take the win. And that's what the officials are saying during that call. And Netanyahu said, told Biden that Israel understands that attitude from the U.S. Now, the prime minister asked all the ministers not to actually hold any interview. But from what we understand and according to what Gans has said, Gans is leading somewhat a camp where he asked for a more calculated response and that Israel needs to be careful with its steps. But we'll get to hear from Netanyahu himself until now. Balil, thank you so much for this report. The Israeli home front command says even though the initial major scare is over, locals must be vigilant and attentive to IDF's instructions. I-24 News presenter Benita Levine joining me in the studio. Benita, what are the guidelines? So, Mary, the guidelines that were announced ahead of this Iranian strike are being extended until 11 p.m. on Monday. Now, most Israeli citizens would have access to those instructions on their phones. Most people have the home front command app, and they will know specifically various regions, what they need to be doing. The one that will stand out right now is to do with schools, and schools are going to remain closed tomorrow. Now, from a week from now, the Passover festival will start. So, to be frank, most older children are already on holiday. It's the week ahead of the Passover holiday. However, for younger children, this will be a big deal. Specifically for parents who will need to make a plan in terms of younger children, the schools are going to remain closed. But again, it's only until 11 p.m. tomorrow, and those instructions from the home front command could, of course, be changing. It simply is a precaution to keep all citizens safe. In terms of gatherings, they are capped right now at 1,000 people. That remains in place. Again, the instructions might change for now. It is all going to stay in place until 11 o'clock on Monday. That was the cue from my babysitter that is watching right now. Thank you, Benita. As the Israeli War Cabinet weighs a response to the aerial assault by Iran and its allies, Tehran said it would not strike again unless attacked, and the U.S. is urging Israel not to respond. Meanwhile, members of the Israeli coalition are divided over what response would be appropriate. Let's hear a little about what options Israel has. With me in the studio are IDF Major General and the Reserves Eitan Dangot, Dr. Mayor Javed Danfar, an export on Iranian affairs from Reichman University, also with us is Dania Elon, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us. Eitan, I want to start with you. You know, Israel and allied defense has intercepted more than 300 Iranian missiles and drones, more than 1,100 miles away from their launch points. What is mostly Israeli missiles' defense systems? Yes, I think, first of all, what you describe shows the serious attack that has been planned and was done by Iran towards Israel. It was not a light attack. No doubt about it. If some of those missiles from the few types were entered and reached the targets, we are sitting here in a different scenario for sure. So especially the ballistic missiles, which has a very heavy head with ammunition and that can be a great danger for what they target mostly some of the air force bases on the south and in the north, some military bases. This is my estimation, because they didn't enter and succeed to enter this kind of bloc. This was the success of the defensive way, active defense of the Israeli air force against this kind that is sharing the sky to some part against the missiles that crossing the atmosphere, against missiles that has a short range, and of course cruise missiles, and of course, of course, the UAVs. So all this kind of combination and above it, you have also the bloc of countries. And this is, I think, the great achievement of the operation yesterday that besides the main success of the Israeli air defense, something like 98, 99 percent of success in targeting those kind type of missiles. We have a bloc of countries. This is the change of the Middle East, in my opinion, that you have a bloc of modern Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and others, which supply sensors and supply also their defense in the sky, like was reported as Jordan and others. And that is something that made a new wall in this area against Iran for the future. And it changed absolutely the subject. And it means for Israel also, we can do a lot by ourselves, but we need this kind of bloc, this kind of support. It has a lot of meaning for the future. And above all, it's the United States that centralized and will prepare it together. Right. Danny, I want to ask you, will Israel retaliate? And if so, will it be in the time and way that is convenient for Israel? Yeah, that's a very good point. I think Israel should retaliate. It should announce that it's going to be very hurtful for the Iranians. But without mentioning the time, and it could take a long time, let the Iranians sweat. Let them be now on the defensive. Just like Israelis were before? Absolutely. I think that actually what we're seeing now is a complete change, 180 degrees of the situation. Until yesterday, it was Israel which was isolated. Now it's Iran which is isolated. Now also the great phenomenal achievement, which was intelligence, operational, and of course technological, I think that we can afford waiting with the response because we have shown our capabilities, which is a deterrence in itself. However, I think that Israel now should move into a diplomatic front, whereby we can get something out of it. If we, let's say, heed to the requests of the Americans and others, we can tell them, okay, we will wait with a response. But for that, we need the support of the United States into, first of all, entering Rafa, getting out maybe even militarily if we need to, the hostages, and also removing the Hezbollah to the north, either politically or by force. Mayor, as an Israeli mother, I can say that I think I know how every mother and father in Israel felt last night, knowing that those missiles and drones are on the way to us. How does the common mother in Tehran feel right now? I think the common mother in Iran has been very worrying about the rising cost of food, the inflation, 30, some people say 60 percent, and the cost of the inflation for housing, which is between 40 to 80 percent, they're worried about the incredible and unfortunately a very accessible opium market in Tehran, in big places, and also the fact that the big cities are becoming more and more insecure because of rising poverty. That is, it's already difficult being Iranian mother, being an Iranian mother, which is why the fertility rate in Iran crashed from six when we were there in 87 to 1.7 now. Iranian regime says 2.1 is about 1.7. You don't want to have kids anymore. And now when they think about Israel, how do they feel? To be honest with you, I think they're worried that there's going to be a new war. I don't think they're worried that Israel is going to carry out a massacre of their children or anything like that. What they're worried about is that regime is brought an unnecessary war upon the people of Iran, and that the Iranians are paying an exaggerated price for Palestine. This is not something to do with them. The Palestinians were not prepared to pay any price for the people of Iran. Why should they pay a price for it? And the great concern for the future, Iranians. The number one issue for Iranians, just as it is for Israelis, is basic domestic stuff. It's basically security, education, health, and the Iranian regime has done such a terrible job of managing that, while beating the drums of war against Israel that many people are unhappy with its policies. Mayor, thank you so much. Danny Eitan, thank you for being with us. Mike Wagenheim, I-24 News, Senior U.S. Correspondent, the Biden administration hoping to avoid further escalation, advising Israel to avoid powerful retaliation. This was one of the main focuses in President Biden's phone call with Israeli Prime Minister, we can assume. Markei, with us? Right, Biden reportedly told, yes I am, Biden reportedly telling Prime Minister Netanyahu that he should essentially take the win, take the win is how he defined things. Well, it can be defined as a win in a lot of different ways, a hard fought alliance of the U.S., the U.K., Jordan, Saudi Arabia fighting back against Iran can be looked at as a win, certainly the lack of damage and the lack of casualties can be defined as a win. I think the Israeli point of view and the greater Middle Eastern point of view that the Biden administration just doesn't see is that simply surviving is not a win anymore, that the next conflict is around the corner, you either do it on your terms or the enemy's terms and the Biden administration just hasn't grasped that concept even after October 7th. So it's understandable that the Biden admin with all its domestic problems with an election coming up, it doesn't want to be bogged down in World War III or any kind of regional conflict, however essentially Biden said you do what you need to do and we're just not going to participate. I think that's from an American perspective, probably the proper political thing for Biden and for Netanyahu, it kind of frees him a little bit from the shackles, Netanyahu has been tethered to Biden throughout the Gaza conflict. I think this might free him up a little bit. Thank you, Mike. Thank you so much. Moments ago, IDA spokesperson coming out with a statement saying it is expanding, it's recruiting of reserve soldiers. Well, Yanatan Regev is joining me with the details. Yanatan? Yes, Mary, as you mentioned, the statement coming out in the last few minutes. The IDF will recruit two reserve brigades to join the operational missions within Gaza because let's remember it's been for the past week or so and certainly for the past 24 hours, we're speaking mostly of Iran, of course it makes sense, but the main issue is still Gaza. Just remember, 133 Israeli hostages are still there, four Hamas battalions are still in Rafa, there are two Hamas battalions in the refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip. So all this is still the IDF has to deal with. Most of the forces have left Gaza, certainly most of the reserve forces, but there's still plenty of work to do and therefore two more reserve brigades are recruited. Thank you very much, Jonathan. A seven-year-old girl was seriously injured after Shrapnel from an interception hit a Bedouin village in southern Israel. Our Aron Denetayev and Pierre Kloshner have the details. After a tense night, Israelis walked to the harsh results. The list protected took the hit, a seven-year-old Bedouin girl. Amina Almasuni, from the unrecognized Bedouin village, is from the unrecognized Bedouin village of Alfoura, was seriously wounded during the night from Shrapnel from an interception which penetrated her bedroom and struck her head. She was hospitalized in intensive care at Soroka Hospital in Bersheba and is in critical condition. Bedouin have long complained about a shortage of protection, even more so since the brutal Hamas assault of October 7, which claimed the lives of Bedouins who weren't protected. A total of 12 people were taken to hospital after the Iranian attack early Sunday morning, eight of whom were lightly wounded, some of them by Shrapnel, and some while running to shelter. Three are suffering from shock. Pierre Kloshner, our 24 News correspondent, is joining us from Soroka Medical Center, where seven-year-old Amina Alkasumi is being treated. Pierre, what can you tell us about her condition? Well we've seen her carried on a wheelbed and going to the surgical ward of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Soroka Hospital. She wasn't conscious, she's anesthesized and ventilated, and she's being treated right now upstairs at the surgical ward. We don't have any information about her condition, but it remains critical that we know for sure. The mother of the little girl, Amina Alkasumi, was accompanying her. The father, Mohamed, went back home because a lot of people are coming to the village of El-Foura, the unrecognized Bedouin village, in order to pay their respect to the family after Amina was severely injured, and some others amongst the family were also injured by shrapnels, we understand. Thank you very much, Pierre, for praying for this sweet little girl. Robert Swift, I-24 News correspondent, is joining us from northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, the target of a massive barrage in last night's attack. The IDF has struck several targets in southern Lebanon. Rob, what can you tell us about it? Just a few minutes ago, there was an airstrike took place behind us. My cameraman is going to zoom into the hill so you can see where the strike landed. I'll just step aside. Now, we're overlooking the city of Kiryat-Shmona, and there's been skirmishes here throughout the day. There was a break of several hours, but they seem to have continued again. Now, we have heard Israeli drones and aircraft overhead, and three explosions took place on the hill where the cameraman is now looking, and this, according to Lebanese reports, was an Israeli strike on the village of Hula, which is just a very short distance across the border. As I said, that's one of several incidents that have taken place today, with Lebanese sources also reporting that another village, Qwakila, a bit further to the north of us, was struck by IDF jets earlier this evening. Israel and the world hailed the success of blocking the massive Iranian attack, but what is the cost of so many interceptions? I-24 News Correspondent Giazli Ali breaks down the numbers. An extraordinary success overnight to Israel's aerial defense systems. Thwarting Iran's massive missile and drone attack. Over 300 projectiles, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones, were launched in the combined assault on the Jewish state early Sunday morning. And while according to the IDF, 99 percent of the threats were intercepted, the accomplishment does come at a price, a financial one. Experts estimate the cost of the interceptions by fighter jets and the wide Israeli arsenal of aerial defense systems at between one and 1.3 billion US dollars. And here are the small numbers. A single launch of Israel's Iron Dome system against short-range rockets costs $30,000. The use of Israel's David Slink system designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, $700,000. Iran is said to have launched up to 100 ballistic missiles. Those were intercepted by Israel's Arrow 2 system, with an estimated cost of $1.5 million per launch, or by the Arrow 3, which comes at a hefty $2 million per missile. And this is not taking into account the costs of getting fighter jets in the air and the use of air-to-air python missiles costing $20,000 per piece. In comparison, launching the attack drones and missiles costs a mere fraction of those defense tools. And yet despite the staggering costs, the estimated damage prevented in both human life and property, makes it cheap at the price. With me in the studio, National Security Expert and IDF Colonel, in the reserves, Koby Marom, Captain and Reserve's Guy Puran, a former Israeli Air Force pilot and Major General in the reserves, Eitan Dangot. Thank you gentlemen for being with us. Thank you for inviting me. Koby, I want to ask, you know, even I think Israelis did not expect such great success against such a fierce attack. Yes, I agree. I think what we had last night is a tough and severe Iranians' attack against Israel. Over 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. It's very an exception. And I think what the Iranians really tried to do is to change the rules of the game in the conflict against Israel. Actually in my point of view, there are responsible for the six months of conflict that we had in six different fronts. And I don't think they pay enough prices for their commanding and involvement in so many fronts against Israel. So the assassination of General Madin, my point, was the right thing to do. He was the commander of the Iranian operation in Syria and Lebanon, and Israel did the right thing. Now, yes, you're right. What the Israeli people saw last night is an amazing achievement and amazing success of the Israeli air defense system. Very an exception. And I think we show all the players in this game the great capability of the Israeli technology and the Israeli capability. But there's another thing that is very important to mention tonight. We saw an amazing coalition working with Israel, cooperating with Israel. United States, Israel, France, British and other regional countries, Arab countries. And I think it's an Israeli interest if we look forward to strengthen this coalition. It's great for the future because we can cooperate against the major enemy, which is Iran. So there's a real opportunity here. Oh, an amazing opportunity. And I think when we look forward, is it an Israeli interest to retaliate to this? I think there's no question about it. The fact that Iranian regime actually yesterday operated an unbelievable attack against Israel is part of the weak deterrence that we have since October 7th. And I think if we want to regain this deterrence, we must retaliate and show the Iranians and other players across the Middle East that the Israeli deterrence is still effective. This is critical for the future of Israel. Guy, I want to ask you as a former Israeli Air Force pilot, was this scenario something you ever trained for? Yes. Over the years, the training for many years is aimed at such a situation. But you're right that I don't think that anybody was expecting such a high rate of success. And this is, in fact, I agree that this is, it would not have been possible without the very strong support of the United States. And I remind you that these ministers in this government very recently said that the Americans have no business about telling us what to do and we don't need them, et cetera. And I'm not even talking about the fact that some ministers and some members are even talking about the pilots themselves. The Air Force, we're bad mouthing, this is the same Air Force that did this thing. And now everybody's thanking and everybody's saying such a great compliments to the Air Force. It's the same Air Force that some of these people were bad mouthing a little while ago. Eitan, after America stood by Israel's side tonight, and we owe a big thank you to America, Biden tells Netanyahu, US will not participate in offensive operations against Iran. The question is why and what should Israel do about it? Positive activity towards Iran can bring up the situation in the area from a local war to a regional war. And this is the fact that the United States are not willing to do it from the first morning. This is the dawn at the beginning of the war, towards Hezbollah and Iran. And this is the second time after warning Iran before this attack. But there is a but. I think that the main thing is to see it and to talk with the United States, because Israel is now, in my opinion, three alternative. First of all, to continue the war in Gaza, to release the hostages, and to continue and finish to destroy Hamas structure. Secondly, to bring back the civilians in the North back home, 100,000 people, and withdraw from Hezbollah to 1701 or in a different way. The third is the offensive way to Iran. In this kind of thing, I think Israel should use other kinds. Israel should react, this is my own opinion. But to find the way, how and the timing, we can do it. And this is the reason why I think Benjamin Netanyahu decided that only the cabinet war will decide about what, when. I want to show you an unbelievable video that was posted by Khan Mazig, a demonstration in Toronto calling for ceasefire in Gaza. But once the protesters hear Iran's attacking Israel, the ask is a bit different. Can we hear it? Quite unbelievable. Yes. If I may, my colleagues here said that we have to retaliate to keep the deterrence. I think that what we saw yesterday was the loss of the deterrence of Iran. In fact, the fact that they did such a massive attack with little or no effect, no results. After President Biden said don't. Exactly. But they still, they lost their deterrence. It means that everybody abroad and in Israel, every Israeli citizen knows that if they do something like that in a few weeks, the system, the Israeli system can stop it. So they have basically lost it. And I agree absolutely with Eitan that the idea of immediately this kind of, they did this over the retaliate. Don't forget that they retaliated for the killing of this general. So this retaliation, constant retaliation. We have to be smart not to enter into this endless cycle which will bring the war into a situation that we do not control it anymore. Guy, Kobe, Eitan, thank you very much for being with us. This attacks comes against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Chamas war in Gaza. 133 Israelis has been held hostage by Hamas terrorists for 191 days. Earlier today, Hamas officially rejected the latest ceasefire proposal. And with the media focus shifting to Iran, the family's hope of bringing back their loved ones continues to fade. Tasha Kirchuk spoke to the families. Traumatic. That's perhaps the best word to describe last night for the Israeli public following Iran's attack. But for the families of the Israeli hostages still being held captive in Gaza for 191 days now, the psychological warfare is nothing new. Anyone who agrees that they should be returned, and I think that is the majority of the people, should stop and do everything to return them. The biggest problem, in my view, is the normalization, the normalization of this situation, where people continue their lives while there are families who pay the heaviest price. The only difference is that Iran's attack is derailing international headlines, replacing the plight of the hostages with the fight against Iran. In fact, even this morning, when the Mossad announced that Hamas had rejected the latest ceasefire proposal on the table, that major piece of news was completely sidelined by Iran's assault on Israel. People don't understand that this serves Netanyahu as well. This assassination was intentional to create the emergency situation that makes people stay at home, disperses the protests. But at least the families and people who accompany them and fight for Netanyahu's resignation will not surrender and will not let the fear make them stay at home. There are still over 130 Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza. Last night saw many of their families take to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest for their immediate release. Those protests were broken up when the news came out of Iran's imminent attack. And even though Hamas actually rejected the latest hostage deal offer last night at 7 p.m., an official statement on the matter wasn't released until this morning. It's horrifying that the government started this ordeal with Iran. And the only thing that should be talked about and anyone would do is just to get back all the hostages back home at any, any, any price. There are no price for people's lives. Last night's anxiety about Iran's impending attack on Israel was certainly a trauma for every Israeli. But following Israel's incredible show of defense, this morning many woke up feeling safer than ever in their own country. Sadly, the hostages and their families can't say the same. They're still waiting to see when the world will finally show up for them. With me in the studio, I-24 News correspondent Guy Azriel, Guy Hamas rejected the deal. What's the next step? So after the Mossad announcement this morning that Hamas indeed turned down the deal that was put on the table by the mediators and Israeli official, tells me the operation in Rafa will go ahead as planned, adding that the security cabinet, which is convening right now, is set to decide on the future moves. And this goes in line with what we heard from Yonatan Regev earlier about the IDF recruiting two more reserves, brigades, for the fighting in Gaza. Now we know where they could be going to. The announcement this morning stated that the fact that Hamas refused the offer, despite the wide flexibility of Israel shows that Sinwar, the head of Hamas, is not interested in a deal, but rather with an escalation in the region. Guy, thank you very much. I-24 News correspondent Natasha Kirchuk joins us from a rally held by the families. Natasha, what concerns are you hearing from the families now in the aftermath of this unprecedented Iran attack? Well, Mary, the rally that you see right behind me is actually held every single night between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The families come here. It doesn't matter whether or not there's an attack from Iran or from any other nation around the world. They will be here calling for a deal to be immediately made. And that's essentially what we're hearing from some of the families that I spoke with today. I earlier spoke with Ifrat Kaldaron. She's the cousin of Ofer Kaldaron, a father from Niroz, who was taken captive with his two children. And she says that she does not want Israel to respond now to Iran's attack, because she feels that it will put the life of her cousin and the other hostages even more at risk. Last night, you know, many of us had trouble sleeping as we heard about the impending Iranian attack. And what she told me was that this is the situation that every single hostage family deals with on a daily basis since October 7th. Since their family members were taken hostage, they haven't been able to sleep well. At night, they've been living in a constant state of fear and anxiety. So last night, hearing about this impending Iranian attack, the only thought that came to her mind was the fact that we're no longer going to see a global focus on the issue of the hostages, on the plight of the hostages who are still being held, hostage, held captive in Gaza by terrorists for 191 days now. Natasha, thank you so much for this report. After weeks of harsh criticism towards Israel over the war in Gaza, the Iranian attack has brought about a shift in the international position. As many countries around the world expect unconditional support for Israel. I-24 News International correspondent Yana Suriana with the details. If recent weeks were characterized by high tension between Jerusalem and Washington, the overnight massive Iranian attack on Israel put the alliance to the test and demonstrated how strong it is. President Biden reiterated once again Americans' quote ironclad commitment to the security of Israel. In a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, he emphasized the remarkable capacity of Israel to defeat even an unprecedented attack which would not have succeeded without U.S. support. As the Thad system, the Aegis system, the Patriot system added to our multi-layered systems, which is Iron Dome, David Sling, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3, that's a very firm umbrella. We saw it work last night. Strong support also came from President Biden's election rival, fully back in Israel while criticizing the current administration. God bless the people of Israel. They're under attack right now. That's because we show great weakness. This would not happen. The weakness that we've shown, it's unbelievable, and it would not have happened if we were in office. You know that. They know that. Everybody knows that. While Israel has been losing its support for the war in Gaza, the developments with Iran shifted the world's stance. Western countries, one after another, delivered their strongest condemnation of attack. Some of them even took an active part in the Israeli defense. I can confirm that our planes did shoot down a number of Iranian attack drones. I don't want to pay tribute to the bravery and professionalism of our pilots flying into the face of danger to protect civilians. French President and British Prime Minister slammed in the strongest terms the unprecedented attack. German Chancellor called it, quote, unjustifiable and irresponsible. We call Iran to refrain from further attacks, including through proxies. Our regional conflagration would have incalculable consequences. The millions of women, men and children in Israel, Iran and the entire region were terrified and unable to sleep last night. Ahead of the United Nations Security Council emergency meeting set for Sunday night, the Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and condemned the serious escalation carried out by Iran. The attack fueled fresh calls for a foreign aid package to be put before the House of Representatives, after months of delays. While Jerusalem's allies stand side by side with Israel defending herself, they are also bracing for retaliation, hoping somehow to contain it. As fears grow, it could bring the escalation to an unprecedented level. Workhabend Minister Ben Gantz also speaking today, urging to seize this opportunity to strengthen Israel's regional alliances. The strategic alliance and the regional cooperation system that we built stood a significant test and needs to be strengthened precisely now. Israel proved yesterday that it is an anchor of military and technological power and an anchor of security in the Middle East. Thanks to the commanders of the IDF and its fighters, thanks to technology, thanks to the industries. Faced with the threat of Iran, we will build a regional coalition and collect the price from Iran in the way and in the time that suits us. Joining me now, Loa Yal-Sharif, a peace activist and an expert in Arab-Israeli relations. Loa, thank you so much for joining us. Do you agree? Is this an opportunity to strengthen ties with Gulf States or is this escalation going to do the opposite, hindering chances of a tight coalition? Well, I do believe that this escalation showed that the real intentions of the Iranian regime towards the region, that it always wants escalation while it's absolutely proven that when Jordan shut down its airspace, it was a clear message that it would shut down and it would shoot down any UAV that would cross its borders. The Iranian regime keeps on failing, sending lots of messages to the neighbors of Iran that it wants a permanent peace in the region. The Iranian regime keeps sending messages that it wants escalation. Now, this is a great opportunity also for Israel, in my humble opinion, to deal with the situation wisely, because it's a golden opportunity for Israel to strengthen relations with its neighbor. And let's not forget that when Israel was struck in the second Gulf War, Israel did not retaliate imminently. And this is a golden opportunity that Israel can prove to its neighbors that strengthening relations with it would make the Middle East safer. Given the recent reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, how likely are the Saudis to pick a side? Well, I believe Saudi Arabia aims for integrating Iran as a neighbor in the region and as a peaceful member in the region. But unfortunately, all the efforts that Saudi Arabia is doing, all the efforts that Saudi Arabia is doing are not met with equal responses from Iran. Iran keeps sending the wrong messages to its neighbors and to the people in the region. I hope that one day Iran and Israel could reconcile. I hope that one day Iran recognizes the right of Israel to exist and that we all can live in the Middle East that is prosperous and that everyone focuses on modernity. But the messages that Iran is sending is absolutely, how to say this, is absolutely not the right messages. And I believe some countries will take sides after this horrendous attack that was committed last night by Iran. Law, I thank you so much and amen to your wishes. Jordan has taken a public stance as it shot down dozens of Iranian drones flying across northern and central Jordan heading to Israel. This dramatic show of support from Aman comes after it heavily criticized Israel's operation in Gaza. To break this down, journalist and Middle East commentator, Daoud Kutab is joining us from Aman Jordan. Hi, thank you for being with us. Thank you. No doubt Jordan showed last night what peace should look like. How is it received locally? Well, I would say it's received with mixed opinions. Some people have attacked the government of Jordan for allowing the Israeli International and the U.S. Air Force to strike down the Iranian missiles and drones. But for the most part, people are happy that no major escalation happened and that the regional war that many worried about did not happen. So I would say mixed opinions in Jordan. Iran threatens to attack every nation that downed its missiles. Is Jordan preparing for such an attempt? I would say Jordan has a strong security and the U.S. army and the Jordanian army work together and as well as I think all other regional countries, including Israel, work together in this particular situation. The problem I think is that people are unhappy that the Gaza situation has not ended. And I think there are calls now for a regional ceasefire that includes all the parties, Hezbollah, Hamas, Lebanon, Israel, and the waterways between the Red Sea and the Gulf of the Arabian Gulf. I think that's what we need now. We should take an opportunity of what's happening to have a regional ceasefire now, including the Gaza situation. Though thousands of Jordanians went out to the streets of Amman to protest against Israel, officials in Jordan accused Iran of orchestrating these protests. Iran is clearly trying to create a pro-Iran militia in Jordan. Is this something that Israel should be worried about? Well, I think Israel should stop attacking diplomatic missions. I mean, that's the reason for what happened. And I think Israel and Iran need to What do you mean by attacking diplomatic missions? The attack against Israel was the result of the attack on the Damascus diplomatic mission of Iran, which is the violation of the Vienna Convention. You can call them diplomatic mission or something else. But they have to learn that there is consequences to attack. David Kotab, thank you very much for being with us. Thank you. Iran's top military commanders claimed Saturday night's missile and drone attacks were more successful than expected and achieved their goals. But they warned that any retaliation by Israel would lead to an even larger attack. Middle east correspondent Ariel Ozaran has more on their reactions in the region. Enthusiasm in Iran, at least officially, following Saturday night's unprecedented drone and missile attack against Israel. Dozens of regime supporters took to the streets of Tehran in celebration over word of the attack. Hail to the soldiers of Islam for their bravery and sacrifice. The blood of Qasem Soleimani and other martyrs of the resistance will not be wasted. Our slogan forever is death to Israel. Praise be to our wise leader. While at the same time, long lines begin to form at gas stations across Tehran over fear of Israel's response. But Iran's military commanders are already threatening Israel over its potential retaliation. From our point of view, this operation is over and there's no intention to continue the operation. But if the Zionist regime takes any action against the Islamic Republic, whether on our soil or in places belonging to us in Syria or elsewhere, our next operation will be much larger. Meanwhile, celebrations over the attack were also marked in Iraq and Lebanon as residents of Gaza rejoiced over the sites in the Israeli skies. Most of the Iranian drones were intercepted by Israeli, American, British and French forces outside Israeli territory. Israel's neighbor to the east, Jordan, scrambled fighter jets to down dozens of launches, with remnants of intercepted missiles falling in the capital, Amman. Saudi Arabia and the UAE voiced concern over the escalation, as Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Asafadi promised the kingdom would, continue to take the necessary steps to protect Jordan's security and sovereignty, and we will not allow anyone to endanger our security. A sign for optimism, as the region waits for Israel's response to the first ever direct Iranian attack on its territory. Last night's attack drew out cooperation from Iran's proxies across the region, among them militias located in Iraq. Intifad Kumbar, former spokesperson of Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, joins us from Washington DC. Jordanian military intercepted missiles in their airspace headed towards Israel. Was Iraq's actions or lack there for a statement? Well, I tell you one thing, Iraq is completely complicit in this attack. The Iraqi government is paying those militias $3 billion under the popular mobilization of forces, and four of the U.S.-sanctioned militias are getting paid by the Iraqi government, including Qatab Hezbollah, which has committed these attacks. We have information from very high sources in Iraq that the attacks were launched from Western Iraq in a base built for the IRGC, and the irony the Iraqi Prime Minister is in Washington today while the United States fixation. I was watching the shows this morning, the one Sunday shows this morning, and I can see all this mainstream media, left-leaning media, fixated or obsessed with changing the Prime Minister of Netanyahu while forgetting that the real regime has to be changed is the Islam-O-Nazi regime in Iran. I think this is, I'm not trying to be partisan here, Republican or Democrat, but I think we have to think if the United States wants to change the regime, there's one regime has to be changed, the Islam-O-Nazi regime in Tehran, not a friendly, viable democracy like Israel. And if Israel were to respond, Iraq may become a main battle arena. Will Iraq try to avoid this? Well, Iraq basically playing both sides. The Iraqi Prime Minister has absolutely no control on these militias. The chief of staff of these militias appeared on Iranian TV a week ago, Abu Fadak, Al-Muhammadawi, and he said, we are waiting for orders from Khamenei, while technically his commander should be the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia Soudani, who's in Washington now. He's basically declaring that Khamenei is direct commander. So, as I said, there is miscalculation. There's a mis-focus of who's the enemy, the enemy of the existential enemy to Israel and to the Middle East regimes and governments, such as Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Egypt. It's Iran. It's the Islam-O-Nazi regime in Iran. But so I think we should all unite against Iran the same way the whole world united against the Nazi Hitler in 1940s. The United States even made an alliance with the Soviet Communists against the Nazi Hitler. Now, we have a diversion of policy here, trying, fixating, or obsessed with the Prime Minister Netanyahu. Like Netanyahu, hate him. He's not the problem. The main problem in the Middle East and in the world now is the Iranian Mullahs regime. Mr. Khumbar, thank you so much for being with us. Israel's international airport, Ben Gurion, has resumed activity after seven hours in which Iran attacked Israel with over 300 drones and missiles. However, the few hours it was closed, dozens of flights were canceled. Sivan Sisi, I-24 News correspondent at Ben Gurion Airport. I can assume there's a lot of frustration. What are people telling you? Yes, Mary. Good evening live from Ben Gurion Airport. Today was supposed to be the busiest day since October 7th with more than 55,000 passengers. Now closing with only 30,000 passengers after more than six hours where the airspace of Israel was closed. It was resumed and reopened at 7 a.m. And instead of 380 flights, only 160 flights went through today. And while all Israeli airlines was opened, only a few of the foreign airlines returned and official tells us exclusively that the CEO of Ben Gurion Airport sent a letter to the foreign airline saying that it's safe to say to fly to Israel and since the missiles were not aimed to the center of Israel or the airport, so whoever is wanting to fly to Israel or from Israel in the next couple of days, it is safe to check with the specific airline more on this chaotic day in our report. This was supposed to be the busiest day in Ben Gurion Airport since October 7th with more than 55,000 passengers. Instead, there was chaos. There was a war broke out last night and but I checked the flights and everything was good. And now I got to the airport and it says it's cancelled. Like Slo-mo, many passengers arrived at the airport and were shocked to find that their flight were cancelled, with no heads up from the airline companies. We came here and only in check-in, we know about it. And what are you going to do now? I don't know. I really don't know. I'm from Golan Heights and it's something like three hours from here and I need to go back home, I think. The October 7th events made us more prepared, unfortunately, for this kind of unexpected events. During the last week, we are reviewing all the possible scenarios for the upcoming attack that we faced last night. Apart from Israelis who are used to the airport chaos, there were also tourists who had visited Israel and now just wanted to get home. I was thinking that Iran don't fight Israel, just speaking. But I make mistake and I hope that Iran will pay that. And all the countries in the world open eyes. We are trying to go back to Paris. We go to the airport and try to find one plane. Even it's not today, it's tomorrow. Weren't you afraid last night? In Israel, you are not afraid. When you see TV from another country for four years, you can be afraid. Yes, you say it's a war, but Israel is many secure. Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have also reopened their airspace after closing them over Iran's unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel Saturday night. While the chaos and closers are not unprecedented, that's more comfort for the standard passengers. This is it for our show tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. Stay tuned right after us is Kalev Bandovid with the rundown. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where is she. As our soldiers are fighting on the front line, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. This week on News 24, Israel under attack. News 24 in Spanish brings the analysis and information about the events of the war. Exclusive interviews and reports from the war zone. The reaction of Spanish-speaking countries. News 24, the only medium in Spanish that keeps you informed and connected with the Latin community in Israel. News 24, only on I-24 News. Welcome to this special broadcast on I-24 News. I'm Kalev Bandovid. It is day 191 of Israel at war, not just against Hamas, not just against such Iranian proxies as Hezbollah and the Houthis, but for the first time against Iran itself. After Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack against Israel. Hundreds of aerial threats of various kind were fired from Iran, only to find Israel and a coalition of its allies ready to take them down. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets this evening with his war cabinet, the big question is, how should Israel respond? But first senior defense correspondent Jonathan Regev has more. On a night that began with Israelis bracing for the worst and ending with a major sigh of relief. It is no longer the so-called CBW no more campaign between the wars. From now on, it's a full-on war. Last night, Iran launched an attack on Israel with more than 300 threats of various kinds. The numbers are astonishing. 185 UAVs, 36 cruise missiles and 110 ballistic missiles were launched. The vast majority of them from the Iranian territory, with a few coming from Iraq and Yemen. What is far more impressive is the fact that nearly all of them were intercepted on their way, most of them not even reaching Israeli airspace. We intercepted 99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory. It is a very significant strategic success. Strategic success indeed, but there's no such thing as 100% defensive protection. A few missiles did get through the multi-layer defensive system. A 7-year-old girl was severely injured from an impact in the south and minor damage was reported not far from there in the Neva team air force base. Shortly afterwards though, the F-35s were seen landing in Neva team, proving it is completely operational. The incredible amount of interceptions are a clear Israeli success story, but Israel did not do it on its own. The whole world saw what is the strength of a coalition. How Israel, along with the United States and other countries, stands up and deflects this attack in an unprecedented way. It's extremely important in every aspect. Dates Britain and France actively and publicly participated in the effort. Beneath their surface, Jordan and Saudi Arabia also assisted. They too are concerned by the Iranian influence in the region. The whole world saw this night who Iran is, a terrorist state that attacks the state of Israel from a distance of 1,500 km and tries to activate all its proxies. The big question now is what comes next. Israel may be obliged to react in some way, but those same international partners who were there to help last night are asking Jerusalem to refrain from retaliation. The next Israeli step will determine the fate of this war. Well, let's go to our correspondent, Robert Swift. He's in northern Israel in Kirishmonen near the Lebanese border. And Robert Adai, unfortunately, like many others in the past six months there in northern Israel, attacks from the Iranian proxy Hezbollah, but certainly heightened tension now if Iran itself is going to get involved in those attacks in the north. That's right. It was almost anticlimactic the way that today, here up on the north, there was sporadic attacks. Just over two hours ago, there was an Israeli airstrike towards the village of Hula on the Lebanese side of the border, just behind me. And there has been sporadic cross-border fire, but coming off the back of the unprecedented events of last night, it did seem a little surreal. It was business as usual. These are the sorts of attacks that have taken place here daily since October. But yeah, with regards to the events of last night, the events do put things here on the border in a slightly different context. And that is because one of the great concerns with Hezbollah is the arsenal that it holds in rockets, but also in missiles and the threat that they pose to Israeli cities. Now, having seen how successfully the IDF was able to intercept the air attacks that occurred last night, that does slightly change the context here. IDF planners may be wondering if they have a little more ability to take on Hezbollah due to that, or Hezbollah itself might be taking a slightly less confident approach to any confrontation with Israel. But the escalation definitely plays in here as Hezbollah could well be one of the main levers that Iran pulls if it does wish to further escalate things with Israel. So Robert, the attacks last night did prove, though, that having a time of one or two hours to prepare your defenses, it certainly gives you a little more time than, for example, the minutes or even seconds that has when Hezbollah launches these attacks, which might make Iran say that in future attacks we're not going to really rely more on Hezbollah. Right, absolutely. So as opposed to the launches that took place yesterday, which Iran seemed to make clear that we're coming, and then the weapon system took hours to travel, that would not be the case with Hezbollah. Attacks can land here with almost no warning whatsoever if they were to occur. And that's something that obviously will be of concern to Israel as it plans any potential response to the Iranian attack last night. It has to factor in Hezbollah. So far, Iran and the Surana Salah have made it clear that Hezbollah, while it may have one foot in this fight, has appeared to want to stay out of it completely, not to over-escalate. But obviously we are in incredibly risky times at present. The factors which were true in the days before last night may not hold water in the coming days. All right, indeed not. Robert Swift there in northern Israel. Thank you on the front line with Lebanon. Thank you for that. And in studio with us, Jonathan Kron Rikers. He's the former international spokesperson for the IDF. Now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defensive Democracies, and Ambassador Avi Pesne, the former Israeli ambassador to France and Italy. Jonathan, first of all, the IDF showing the amazing, really remarkable defensive capabilities. All of those systems proving themselves last night after years of work and of course the work of its allies. So on that level, on defense, a major achievement for the IDF. On the other hand, Iran launching, feeling confident enough to launch that kind of a direct attack on IDF has had people calling into question the deterrence of Israel. Yes, let's break that apart. I think an unprecedented attack by Iran and an unprecedented successful response and defense by Israel. I don't think that anybody, even inside the IDF, would have anticipated and put his monthly salary betting that 99% of incoming missiles and drones would have been intercepted in midair. That's a tremendous achievement. This is a great strategic and tactical achievement. Strategic because there was coalition building and harnessing the capabilities of partners in the region, led by the US, but UK, France, and very importantly, Jordan. Yes, Jordan really, which has been for months so hugely critical of Israel over the Gaza operation, but last night coming to Israel's defense. Well, coming to their own defense, not agreeing that Iran violates its airspace, but also, yes, helping Israel in our defense and taking a clear stand because you'll remember that the Iranians said after they launched their missile, they threatened any country that will help Israel intercept those rockets will be dealing with us or we will take measures against them, something of that kind. And Jordan took a stand. So there are lots of positives in the military success of yesterday. What we really need to see is how does Israel translate this tactical success, this tremendous defensive accomplishment into a strategic plan and how do we make something of strategic importance of it. That's where we are now and I hope and I assume that that is what the cabinet is speaking about as we're talking. Well, since you mentioned the cabinet, what cabinet meeting and later on I think these, also the security cabinet is, let's go to Balir Sladine who's outside IDF headquarters where the what cabinet has been meeting and certainly assessing what happened last night, Balir, but also looking forward to how Israel is going to react to this unprecedented attack by Iran. Yes, exactly and a couple of minutes ago this meeting has actually ended and they authorized Netanyahu to take those decisions, but the decisions are of course not yet clear. What is clear is the dilemmas that this cabinet is dealing with right now. First of all, and maybe the most important is the fact that Israel is still at war with Hamas in Gaza and in case there is any attack against Iran or counterattack in this case, there will be another front to open for Israel, something that would require from Israel resources and attention of course that it needs to be somewhere else, especially before or like until now there is no reach in the Israelis that it reached their goals in Gaza after all. And the second thing is will the U.S. actually join Israel in this counterattack. Now what we are hearing from the report that cites Biden in his call with Netanyahu yesterday, he said that the U.S. will not actually join or won't even support an Israeli attack. Even Bloomberg a couple of minutes ago said that the G7 meeting ended with the countries there wanting to pressure Israel not to attack Iran after all. The Xios report is actually citing Biden saying to Netanyahu, you got a win, take a win which means that he requires from Netanyahu to consider what happened yesterday as a win, as a victory and there is no need for a response after all. Now the prime minister's office asked the ministers not to actually conduct or hold any interviews for now about this response coming from Israel and from what we understand there is a sort of of course disagreement inside the cabinet regarding how this response should be conducted and when some from what we can understand according to latest statement by Gantz and also Galan they both are talking in terms of calculated steps and also they are mentioning this coalition, this regional coalition or regional alliance that Israel needs to build right now. There is absolutely some sense in Israel that there is an opportunity here after months of condemnation by the West by Arab countries in this region because of the war in Gaza but now we are seeing a different tone from the West and something that Israel and the US has been working on for years now. This coalition, this regional coalition maybe the Israelis want to wait a little bit and build this coalition and then we could figure out what the response could be. We'll see if that's the course the Prime Minister will take. Balear Sledin there, just as he mentioned the war cabinet finishing up. Now as Balear mentioned for one night at least many of the nations that have been critical of Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza lately including the US turned around to support it against Iran not just with words but providing it with an extra military shield against Iran's Ariel Arsenal. Our senior correspondent Bianca Zanini has more on the international reaction. US President Joe Biden had warned Iran not to attack Israel on Saturday night when Iran went ahead and did it anyway the US, France, the UK and Jordan stepped in and helped thwart over 300 drone and missile attacks against Israel. Biden promised a continued iron-clad American support for its ally but reportedly warned the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will not back an Israeli counterattack on Iran. But after weeks of criticism against Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas and Gaza Western countries around the world threw their support behind the Jewish state and condemned Iran's strikes. From Canada to the EU even the Pope spoke up. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the attack reckless. It's clear that Iran is determined to so discontent and destabilize the region its own backyard. That's very clear from its actions. If this attack had been successful the fallout for regional stability would be hard to overstate and we stand by the security of Israel and the wider region which is of course important for our security here at home too. In Germany reiterated that it too stands by Israel. Iran is with its aggressive The worldwide condemnation and the important support of the USA, Great Britain and also from the region shows two things very clearly. Iran is isolated with its aggressive behavior with which it wants to destabilize an entire region and Israel's capabilities have shown that Israel is strong. Israel can protect itself. Iran's foreign ministry on Sunday summoned ambassadors of the UK, Germany and France over what it called irresponsible statements regarding the overnight attack and Tehran warned the US to stay away or its attacks will worsen. Well for more on international reaction especially in the US let's go to our US correspondent Mike Wagenheim in New York and Mike we mentioned here just a moment ago that G7 meeting wrapping up there give us more on updates on what's coming out of Washington and some of those other world leaders in reaction to last night. Everything right now seems to be outside of Israel diplomatically. This was truly a regional and almost global alliance to protect Israel unprecedented in a lot of different ways and I think the United States is trying to point that out right now to Israel saying listen as Joe Biden reportedly told Prime Minister Netanyahu last night take the win take solace in the fact that everybody including some unlikely allies like Jordan, Saudi Arabia stepping up to help you here has been the main reaction out of the White House so far out of Congress well it depends on which side of the aisle you're on Democrats saying that Joe Biden had Israel's back that the Democrats and Congress at large have Israel's back that the commitment there that ironclad commitment to Israel's security is there on a bipartisan basis Republicans for the most part are sailing the White House and the State Department saying that it's their appeasement of Iran over the term of Biden in the White House that led to the events of yesterday nevertheless though both sides and there were hundreds of Congress members tweeting last night was really eye opening to see this all coming out and saying we have to move for different opinions how to do it but we have to move forward as a Congress in getting aid to Israel past the supplemental aid bill that's been held up in Congress now for several months in the aftermath of the White House and then on the 7th speaker Mike Johnson went on the airwaves today making the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows putting out the same vibe listen we're going to move forward on something here but very unclear as to how he's going to be able to work it through with a narrow Republican majority and those hardliners unwilling to give foreign aid especially for nothing in return so that's going to be the big story in Congress this coming week is how that Israel aid bill plays out and we're not going to be alone what have you so something certainly to watch in terms of the global alliance everybody right now pushing for de-escalation and diplomacy that is the main message coming out of global institutions now listen Israel whether they go on record as saying it was their shot or not they have their shot in Damascus Iran retaliated let's not escalate at this point let's not continue to go tit for tat the region has enough to worry about at this point that's the main message not only coming out but likely what we'll hear at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council here in New York coming up in a couple hours time all right Mike Wagenheim in New York thank you for that and have you been in many of the world's capitals including Washington in your long service there just to hear we were speaking about the tensions between the U.S. and Israel or specifically President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu things change in a day but where can Israel build and go from that from what happened yesterday and then move forward and especially in terms of those relations first of all Kaleb it's heart warming to hear the words of Mike about what's going on in Congress towards Israel the administration we are now again the darling of the United States for a day king for a day yeah it's a good thing but but now we have here a dilemma Kaleb we have now the possibility to build an anti-Iranian coalition comprised of United States Germany England France Arab countries you mentioned Jordan Saudi Arabia certainly the Emirates maybe Egypt we can do that in order to try and prevent from Iran from getting nuclear imagine for a moment Kaleb the scenario of last night if Iranian was already a nuclear power the difference in feeling all we can choose a direct operation against Iran without the United States doing it alone and I can understand the rationale of retaliation against Iran not to let this kind of attack just go without a proper answer here we do have a real dilemma I believe we will have to choose because the moment we will respond to the Iranian attack and maybe we will I can assure you that all the good will that you hear today towards Israel will change into Christian well since you talk about that there are those in Israel who are urging a direct attack right immediate direct attack against Iran among them for example the national security minister let's take a listen to what he had to say Israel's response must not be a facade in the style of the dune bombings we saw in previous years in Gaza the concepts of inclusion and proportionality are concepts that vanished on October 7th to create deterrence in the Middle East the landlord must go wild let's see Prime Minister Netanyahu's instructions to his ministers not to make any comments about this Edema Ben-Vir is taking a different attack but I do want to make a point you did you were an advisor to a former Prime Minister someone from the hard right Yitzhak Shamiah who was faced with a similar situation when Israel was attacked by Iraq by Saddam Hussein and his Skud missiles during the Gulf War was like I said much a hard liner he chose a different path than what Ben-Vir is saying I was with Shamiah the night it happened when he took the decision Shamiah wanted very much to lead an attack against Iraq I mean you know all his instincts of a former lehi commander asked retaliation but President George Bush the father called him the whole night between Friday and Saturday morning called him four times during the night to urge him not to retaliate and why because George Bush had built a coalition against Saddam Hussein that included Arab state Sunni Arab state Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and he told Shamiah look Saddam Hussein is trying to pull a fast one on you and on me he wants you to retaliate in order to destroy my coalition please don't do that help me win this war against Saddam Hussein it took Bush the father all night to convince Shamiah not to retaliate it's difficult but we're not quite there yet where there is that coalition exactly we don't have a coalition and we don't have an American statement saying Israel don't do anything because we are we the US I think substantially different situation than where we are today but nevertheless I think the dynamics are still in place and yes there's this thing where countries of the world are happy to help Israel defend itself they are attacked but it's less so when we start actually defending ourselves and taking the battle from our borders to our enemies well of course the prime minister has to take public sentiment into account Israelis last night went to bed if they did at all with concerns of the consequences of Iran's air attack they did wake up this morning to a brighter reality at least for the moment I-24 News went out today to hear how some of those Israelis feel right now that it's crazy they crossed a red border you know I don't feel very safe but I trust our Israeli army and the cooperation with the United States to protect us since the beginning of the war since my safe room my mamad is the staircase in this 500 year old building I've had flashlights and candles I've actually always slept in my clothes me personally I don't feel any fear because of it we're here from Kiryat Shmoner so for us this is the norm we had this in 1995 1996 and also in between so this is nothing special you can see I'm here walking around I feel great especially knowing that we a tiny country faced a country that supplies weapons to terrorists and spreads hate I am optimistic and I know that we have a strong country and no one can hurt us gentlemen it says something about the Israeli spirit there were a lot of jokes that I saw on social media this morning people saying well at least last night Israel had the first direct flights with Iran since 1979 but the fact is that gentleman from Kiryat Shmoner had a demonstration out of his own for six months basically because of Iran and the question is whether the Israeli public already shocked by October 7th feels after last night that there has to be some kind of response sometime soon I think what this does is brings us back to reality and Israel which for the last six months has been a terrible reality we still have 133 hostages not in their homes 192 days from the beginning and we still haven't completed the mission of taking out Hamas in Gaza that still waits and we haven't completed it today the idea for now is that they are mobilizing two brigades or brigade combat teams to continue to deploy in Gaza and maybe prepare for Rafakh maybe prepare for Rafakh even though a maneuver in Rafakh will take much more two brigade combat teams we are talking about two divisions or maybe three divisions for such a maneuver for it to be successful including the humanitarian part so I think that if we look at what happened in the last day or so in Israel tremendous tactical success but we're still in let's say square one when it comes to Gaza and on the northern border still the reality is that about 100,000 Israelis are out of their homes and they still don't really have a path forward so with Iran great success now we can plan how to deal with them but really back to our daily reality of facing Iranian I would say that much of the Israeli public regain self confidence after tonight that was a superb superb action of Tzaharl of air defense I mean this is that there's no precedent in the world that 350 missiles and drone were some of the confidence that was damaged by October 7th I should note home front command still telling no schools until they make a decision until 11pm no gatherings over 1,000 people so not back to normal yet and maybe we don't know what things we'll have to see Jonathan Cornricus ambassador Aviv Pesner stay with us we're going to continue this special in 1991 Israel at war with Hamas and yes with Iran as well we'll be right back Israel's story must reach the whole world the I-24 news channel broadcasting from Israel with dozens of correspondence throughout the world brings the truth from Israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries completely done down in their beds the state of emergency and war in Israel bringing Israel's history to the world I-24 news channels now on hot welcome back to this special broadcast on I-24 news Israel at war now Iran's top military commanders are claiming that last night's missile and drone attacks on Israel were more successful than expected and that the operation is over however they warned that any further retaliation by Israel would lead to an even larger violation a Middle East correspondent Ariel Osso and has more on the reactions in from in the region and in from Tehran enthusiasm in Iran at least officially following Saturday night's unprecedented drone and missile attack against Israel I-24 news channel broadcasting from Israel dozens of regime supporters took to the streets of Tehran in celebration over word of the attack Hail to the soldiers of Islam for their bravery and sacrifice the blood of Qasem Soleimani and other martyrs of the resistance will not be wasted our slogan forever is death to Israel praise be to our wise leader while at the same time long lines begin to form at gas stations across Tehran over fear of Israel's response but Iran's military commanders are already threatening Israel over its potential retaliation from our point of view this operation is over and there is no intention to continue the operation but if the Zionist regime takes any action against the Islamic Republic whether on our soil or in places belonging to us in Syria or elsewhere our next operation will be much larger meanwhile celebrations over the attack were also marked in Iraq and Lebanon as residents of Gaza rejoiced over the sites in the Israeli skies Hail to the soldiers of Israel Hail to the soldiers of Israel most of the Iranian drones were intercepted by Israeli, American British and French forces outside Israeli territory Israel's neighbor to the east Jordan scrambled fighter jets to down dozens of launches with remnants of intercepted missiles falling in the capital, Amman Saudi Arabia and the UAE voiced concern over the escalation as Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Asafadi promised the kingdom would continue to take the necessary steps to protect Jordan's security and sovereignty and we will not allow anyone to endanger our security a sign for optimism as the region waits for Israel's response to the first ever direct Iranian attack on its territory well for more let's speak with Jason Brodsky his policy director of united against nuclear Iran and joining us now from Washington DC and Jason this program president Biden telling Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly take the win from last night looks like Iran is celebrating was it a win for them or not it's great to be with you Kalev I don't think last night was a win for Israel I think yes it was a significant achievement that Israeli air defenses along with those of other partner countries were able to intercept 99% of the hostile airborne objects but at the same time Iran launched an unprecedented attack against the state of Israel from Iranian territory endangering the lives of not only Israelis but hundreds of thousands of Americans live and reside in Israel not to mention European nationals so I would not call that a win that's gross political spin in my view all right but there is a diplomatic side to this besides the military side Israel has been focused critical on Iran more than the U.S. I mean is that something that either Israel could use for its benefit or develop something out of a more longer term strategy against Iran well I think that Israel is going to have to respond militarily to what happened I think the question right now confronting Israelis is the size scope and timing and how to carefully calibrated and align it with the United States and its other allies and partners for alliance management purposes so I do think that there is an opportunity for Israel here but it's going to take a lot of elbow grease from the United States and European allies who have been hesitant to hold the Islamic Republic accountable in a meaningful way to really engage in a kind of global coalition against the Islamic Republic so time will tell but the past performance kind of notion of a global coalition has been underwhelming and poor at best right and let me ask you about Iran moving forward if Israel should respond I mean there is another side of that the question is what would be the response of Iran we did see Iran willing to escalate after the attack on a building that was next to the embassy and they clearly Iran escalated further if Israel should respond in a way directly take credit from what response do you think Iran would take and what kind of consequences would it have well I think that Iran I'm sorry Jason I am I'm going to have to cut you off because Daniel Higari is starting his speech let's take a listen a very significant operational 24 hours after sporting the Iranian attack last few hours we have had an assessment approving plans for defense and offense in light of this assessment we have decided the directives of the home front command will remain intact we continue to look at the situation report and we will be able to adapt the home front command directives wherever we will be able to alleviate and release the restrictions we will do so we will do so responsibly and with discretion and the only thing that we see is protecting and defending the state of Israel we will continue to update on any change immediately your exemplary conduct in the home front last night and throughout the war is commendable you have been listening you have been patient you have been following the home front command directives and you have thus saved lives we have completed a very complicated and successful air battle where Israel together with a regional strong coalition has prevented and defended against the Iranian attack while its proxies Hezbollah in the north and Iraq have upped the war Iran has stopped Israel's regional airspace by launching 350 projectiles of different kinds of explosives and warheads that could have caused a great damage to any country in the region the Iranian threat has met with technological military operational intelligence supremacy of the IDF led by the Israeli air force dozens of combat jets alongside the Israeli defense systems together with a regional coalition led by the United States the UK France other countries in the region we have thwarted 99% of the threat we've intercepted 99% of the threat for the first time such an international coalition actively sports Iranian threat around across the Middle East Israeli commander has spoken to General Michael Carrilla and we have thanked him for leading this coalition and asking to send our thanks to all of our partners in battle Iran wanted to damage infrastructure and has therefore tried to also hit the Israeli air force base of Nevatim Iran's plan had failed out of hundreds of launches very few missiles managed to get into Israeli airspace and only caused minor damage to the base infrastructure the base has remained operational the planes and aircraft have continued to land and all defense and offense operations have continued all night and all day the base is fully operational at the same time we are still continuing to fight in Gaza our forces are fighting the central camps the next few days we will have another two units of reserves who will join fighting in the area even after the last 24 hours and despite the operational success we do not forget for a moment the 133 hostages who are still held in Gaza returning the hostages is our deepest duty we will not miss a single opportunity to help them return home it is our responsibility and we remain alert and prepared the IDF and all its systems are prepared for any development in defense and offense questions Khan 11 has Israel decided to retaliate and run in soil and if so should we prepare for long days of limitations we are prepared we are on high alert on all areas and we are prepared for all developments and we have plans for defense and offense we are on high alert we are prepared and we will not say any more than that at this stage it is our role and one role only to defend and protect Israeli citizens I will say a few words in English I will now say a few words in English last night a defensive coalition of Israel and its international partners successfully swatted a large-scale attack from Iran Iran and its proxies launched approximately 350 suicide drones cruise missiles and ballistic missiles and rockets from Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon towards Israel with approximately 60 tons of warheads and explosive materials but the threat from Iran was met with the aerial operational technological and intelligence superiority of a united defensive coalition of international allies led by the United States together with Great Britain France and other partners together we intercepted 99% of the threats towards Israel together we thwarted Iran's attack Iran's unprecedented attack was met with an unprecedented defense this was the first time that such a coalition worked together against the threat of Iran and its proxies in the Middle East even while under attack from Iran we have not lost sight not for one moment of a critical mission in Gaza to rescue our hostages from the hands of Iran's proxies Hamas of our moral duty to do everything in our power to bring 133 hostages back home Hamas recently rejected the hostage release proposal offered to them by the mediators Hamas and Iran want to ignite the Middle East and to escalate the region we are still on high alert and assessing the situation over the last few hours we approved operational plans for both offensive and defensive action we will continue to protect the state of Israel and together with our partners we will continue to build a more secure and stable future for the entire Middle East questions please question from NBC what do you think Iran's intentions were for this attack alright we just heard Daniel Higari speaking both in Hebrew and English of course important to the international audience let me ask you Jonathan you are of course former spokesperson to the international media the reaction a point being made is you are making its case to the world both in dealing with the Gaza operation and making its case now in the wake of this Iran attack I think a very measured and true to form well postured statement which isn't grandstanding or isn't belligerent not making too much of our last night success keeping it measured but today is the day after and the day after the day after will come and we will continue to be in the situation that we're in so it's a very sober statement one that acknowledges the enablers of Israeli success our regional cooperation and US support that's very important and I think the fact that Higari decided to mention that and to speak so much of it may also indicate how we're looking at what Israel is planning to do and what Israel will do what it won't do understanding that we are not operating alone that perhaps is an important point Alright, Jonathan Conriquez thank you for joining us Ambassador Avi Pesner stay with us for the time being it is important to point out there was one serious casualty of Iran's air attack last night in Israel despite the defensive measures Amina al-Hassuni was injured when shrapnel from an intercepted missile struck her home in the Negev, in the south Apia Kloshlandler is down at Soroka Medical Center in Bershiba and Phyllis and Pierre on how this happened and of course this young girl's condition Well at 5 to 2 this morning, 2 a.m. there was an alert over the city of Arad recognized between villages in the vicinity and they heard a faint siren they went outside there is no shelter they went outside hiding in cracks of the soil of the terrain or maybe in near water pipes and when they came back to the home a huge shrapnel actually from an interception of a ballistic missile fell on the roof on the teen roof of the shack building and wounded severely the 7-year-old girl, Amina al-Hassuni who has been hospitalized since then at Soroka Hospital we saw her being driven on a wheel bed to the surgical ward of the pediatric intensive care unit and she's right now undergoing surgery she's been anesthetized and ventilized since she was wounded and her life is in danger we saw her mother we saw one of her brother they didn't want to talk the father went back home there's a lot of people coming and paying respect and hoping for the well-being of the little girl and he's receiving those guests at home but that's one example of people that are very fragile by this kind of brutal assaults remember in October 7 also a Bedouin from the southern part of Israel were killed in the rocket attack on October 7 again because they don't have shelters and that's one of the difficult situations of this country 35 unrecognized villages over 127 over 120,000 people who have absolutely no shelter to hide and protect themselves in case of rocket attacks right and just have to again point out the one victim of Iran's attack last night the seven-year-old Bedouin girl there in the Negev, Pierre-Claude Chandler in Beersheba, thank you for that now we've spoken in the studio and we heard Daniel Logari speak about it now the importance of the alliance that came and worked with Israel on its defense last night War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz also spoke about that today stressing the opportunities for strengthening Israel's regional alliances in the wake of last night's events let's take a listen yesterday Iran launched an attack on Israel and met the strength of the Israeli security system Iran is a global problem it is a regional challenge and it is also a danger to Israel and yesterday the world clearly stood together with Israel in the face of the danger Israel against Iran the world against Iran this is the result this is a strategic achievement which we must leverage for Israel's security this event is not over the strategic alliance and the regional cooperation system that we built stood a significant test and needs to be strengthened precisely now Israel proved yesterday that it was an anchor of military and technological power and an anchor of security in the Middle East thanks to the commanders of the IDF and its fighters thanks to technology thanks to the industries faced with the threat of Iran we will build a regional coalition and collect the price from Iran in the way and in the time that suits us well for more about the potential for these regional alliances let's go to our correspondent Dubai Bastian, a Buri in Bastian if Israel could go to for example an extended direct conflict with Iran could that alliance withstand those pressures for example countries like the UAE there Saudi Arabia that have been trying to in some way repair relations with Iran and those like Qatar, Kuwait there in the Gulf already have strong relations well first let's mention that these Gulf countries you just mentioned did not condemn Iran mentioning in the country these were very neutral reactions from countries that have absolutely no desire for this conflict to spread and who certainly do not want to be involved in it just like Saudi Arabia officially countries like Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern over this military escalation and urged all parties involved to exercise restraint calling for the need for the Security Council, the UN Security Council to assume its responsibility towards maintaining international peace and security so Kalev you cannot really get more neutral than that talking about Iran of course there was this reconciliation pact two years ago Riyad and Abu Dhabi have an interest in maintaining close ties with Iran Saudi Arabia because Iran is the market to be exploited particularly in terms of investment in science, in telecommunications in sports, etc the Saudis have approached Iran with multiple offers lately to boost cooperation and invest in its economy and the UAE because there are over 200 billion dollars in Iranian assets in Emirati banks here including in Dubai among many other things despite all that Iran is still seen as a challenge even as a threat because Tehran has a much more skilled, native workforce and a far greater and autonomous command of science in general not to mention things like Aramco the gigantic Saudi oil company was backing pretty much all the current mega projects in Saudi Arabia suffering a big drop in profits this year because of the war in Gaza zero interest here in a wider conflict and zero interest in giving up on this reconciliation pact with Iran so a regional alliance still that Israel would like to see perhaps still a way off Bashanbury in Dubai, thank you for that and let me ask you about that a bit of bracing reality here even as much as it's nice to talk about how Jordan intervened and maybe Saudi Arabia put aside concerns the fact is it's hard to imagine some of those countries some of those allies getting involved in a more extended conflict with Iran other than say defending Israel for one night you know you have to differentiate between remarks and statement and action what happened last night spoke louder than a thousand words could you imagine just a few weeks ago that an Arab country would defend Israel against an Iranian attack and this is what happened of course they're not eager to talk about it they're not eager to draw the road of the Palestinians of Hamas and of everybody but there is something going on remember only two three weeks ago what was the talks in international circle embargo against Israel sanction against Israel and now we are speaking regional cooperation we should pursue this route irrespective of the official statement I think what happened last night was a turning point in the history of the region alright turning point in this region you've seen plenty of ambassador thank you now unfortunately yesterday Hamas rejected the latest offer for a hostage deal but that news was in some ways completely overshadowed by the Iran attack now the hostage families are worried that the plight of their loved ones held captive in Gaza will no longer sit atop the government's agenda or the public's attention span Natasha Kerchik has more on that traumatic that's perhaps the best word to describe last night for the Israeli public following Iran's attack but for the families of the Israeli hostages still being held captive in Gaza for 191 days now the psychological warfare is nothing new anyone who agrees that they should be returned and I think that is the majority of the people should stop and do everything to return them the biggest problem in my view is the normalization the normalization of this situation where people continue their lives while there are families who pay the heaviest price the only difference is that Iran's attack is derailing international headlines replacing the plight of the hostages with a fight against Iran in fact even this morning when the Mossad announced that Hamas had rejected the latest ceasefire proposal on the table that major piece of news was completely sidelined by Iran's assault on Israel people don't understand that this serves Netanyahu as well this assassination was intentional to create the emergency situation that makes people stay at home versus the protests but at least the families and people who accompany them and fight for Netanyahu's resignation will not surrender and will not let the fear make them stay at home there are still over 130 Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza last night saw many of their families take to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest for their immediate release those protests were broken up when the news came out of Iran's imminent attack and even though Hamas actually rejected the latest hostage deal offer last night at 7pm an official statement on the matter wasn't released until this morning it's horrifying that the government started this ordeal with Iran and the only thing that should be talked about and anyone would do is just to get back all the hostages back home at any any price there was no price for people's lives last night's anxiety about Iran's impending attack on Israel was certainly a trauma for every Israeli but following Israel's incredible show of defense this morning many woke up feeling safer than ever in their own country sadly the hostages and their families can't say the same they're still waiting to see when the world will finally show up for them yes, let us not forget the hostages 133 still being held there in Gaza reminded to viewers here that educational institutions are still closed tomorrow gatherings over 1000 are still not permitted there'll be a reassessment tomorrow at 11pm local time and if you're planning on flying to or from Israel