Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued his first public response to the barrage of Iranian drone strikes on Israel, pledging his nation would emerge victorious.
In a brief message he posted on his X account, Netanyahu wrote in Hebrew, "We intercepted. We shut it down. We'll succeed together."
This is the first time Netanyahu has expressed something in public since the Iranian attack.
יירטנו. בלמנו.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 14, 2024
יחד ננצח 🇮🇱
Following a two-hour situation assessment with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, an Israeli official said no decision had been made regarding Israel's response to the Iranian missile and drone attack. The war cabinet meeting will discuss the possible response today at a 3pm meeting.
Also Read: Biden assures 'ironclad' support for Israel amid Iranian attack
Following assessment of the situation with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel has managed to halt the main Iranian attack. "The campaign is not yet over - we must remain alert and attentive to the instructions published by the IDF and Homefront Command. We must be prepared for every scenario. Having said this, we have thwarted the most significant wave [of the attack], and we did so successfully.”
He praises Israel's cooperation with the US and other allies, saying, “Israel withstood an attack tonight by hundreds of missiles and drones, and the IDF halted the attack impressively".
Also Read: Amid heightened tensions, Iran launches drone attack on Israel
Iran, according to him, is "a terrorist state that attacks Israel from a distance of 1,500 kilometres and tries to activate all its proxies," as the entire world saw it.
'US won't support any Israeli counterattack'
Meanwhile, according to US media, which cites senior administration officials, US President Joe Biden informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not support any Israeli counterattack on Iran. According to CNN and Axios, the two exchanged the message over the phone.
According to Axios, Biden informed Netanyahu that the US would oppose any Israeli attack. He said, according to CNN, that the US will not participate in any such counteraction.
