State media in Iran are now reporting an explosion, and air defenses have been activated in several provinces. Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and rockets on Sunday night.
The background was a suspected Israeli-led attack on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus, in which two generals of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were killed at the beginning of April. Israel had announced that it wanted to respond to the Iranian retaliatory attack. Iran's Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian warned Israel clearly against military action against his country before the recent events. Iran hopes that Israel will not repeat "the previous egregious mistake," Amirabdollahian said. Israel also repelled the Iranian retaliatory attack on April 1, but there was initially no direct accusation of blame from the Iranian side after the incident. There were initially no indications of possible damage or victims. According to the army, a rocket alarm was triggered shortly afterwards in northern Israel - but according to the media, it was a false alarm. High-ranking US government officials expressed their concerns about a military offensive in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. White House said their common goal was to defeat the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas in Rafah. The Israeli side has agreed to take the concerns into account. A resolution for full membership of a Palestinian state in the United Nations failed in the UN Security Council due to a US veto. Twelve member countries voted for the resolution in New York, Switzerland, and Great Britain abstained. The U.S. takes the position that an agreement with Israel on a two-state solution is a prerequisite for recognizing full UN membership for Palestine, the U.N. said on Monday. The city on the border with Egypt is currently overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of refugees. The USA, as Israel's most important ally, and Germany have repeatedly warned the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a large-scale offensive in Rafah. The Israelis agreed to remain in contact with the US side on the issue. There should be further consultations soon.