2024-04-15 23:05:06
After the Iranian one attack the West showered upon Israel with calls for restraint
Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, while expected, sparked a global wave of calls for restraint and de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Out of a total of more than 300 drones and missiles launched, the Israeli army, with the help of the USA, Great Britain and Jordan, managed to shoot down 99% of them. If the country’s air defenses, including the Iron Dome, Patriot and Strela air defense systems, were not so reliable, the situation would probably look quite different. “It was terrifying, the children did not sleep all night, they came to bed with us,” said a resident of Jerusalem, quoted by the BBC. “We knew Iran would attack. We were a little nervous. But we are aware that we have a great (air defense) shield,” commented another Israeli citizen, adding that people do not want a backlash.
After Tehran’s airstrike, damage was mainly done to a military base in the Negev desert, but the army said it was minor. However, the damage to one family, part of the Arab Bedouin community in Israel, is significant, writes the New York Times. 7-year-old Amina al-Hassoni was the only one more seriously injured in the Iranian strike, and according to her family, if the “systemic inequality” in Israel had not existed, she would hardly have had to fight for her life now.
There are about 300,000 Arab Bedouins in the Negev desert, most of whom live in villages that are not recognized by the authorities in Israel. Because of this, these communities have long suffered from a lack of basic services – running water, electricity, sanitation, infrastructure, etc. Also, few people in the region have access to bomb shelters, despite repeated requests to the authorities for one.
“I think he hit her while she was running,” said Ismail – the injured girl’s uncle. Late on Saturday, when the sirens went off, Ismail felt trapped because there was no shelter for him and his relatives. Then part of a rocket rips through the roof of the Hassoni family’s house, landing right outside the front door – where Amina is knocked unconscious.
“She likes to laugh and have fun all the time”, says the father of the 7-year-old girl – Mohammed, from the hospital where his daughter – the youngest of 14 children – is admitted. “She is a good student, a strong person, she doesn’t always listen to our advice,” says Mohammed. “May God destroy them,” adds the father in reference to Iran.
Calls for Israel not to retaliate continue. Already on Sunday, during the conversation between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it became clear that the White House does not want to participate in an attack on Tehran, although Biden assured that support for Tel Aviv is “iron.” During their extraordinary meeting, the G7 leaders called on Iran to “stop the attacks”.
The UN Security Council also held an emergency meeting. “The Middle East is on the brink. It faces real danger,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, warning that “a full-scale conflict is here, now is the time to quell it or let it escalate.” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Israel not to respond to Iran’s attack, although according to him “they have every right to respond”. In Cameron’s words, Tehran suffered a “double loss” by showing the world that it “is a malign influence in the region”.