The international community redoubled diplomatic efforts on Wednesday to prevent a massive response by Israel against Iran which would risk setting the Middle East ablaze, while promising sanctions against Tehran which threatened its enemy with a “ferocious” response. “.
The heads of British diplomacy, David Cameron, and German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, called for de-escalation, during the first visit of Western representatives to Israel since the unprecedented attack launched by Iran against Israeli territory during the night of April 13 to 14.
This attack was followed by threats of cross reprisals between Israel and Iran, in a context of high regional tensions since the start, on October 7, of the war between Israel and Hamas, ally of Tehran, in the Gaza Strip .
While negotiations for a truce are “stagnating”, according to Qatar, the Islamist movement’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday counted 56 deaths in 24 hours across the Palestinian territory besieged and bombarded daily by Israel.
On another front, the Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah, another ally of Tehran, exchanged fire on Wednesday on both sides of Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, according to the army, the day after an explosive drone attack on Israeli positions claimed by Hezbollah.
Call to “the whole world”
The Israeli head of state, Isaac Herzog, called on “the whole world” to counter the threat posed by the “regime” in Tehran, “which seeks to undermine the stability of the entire region”, by receiving David Cameron, and Annalena Baerbock.
Iran, for its part, celebrated Army Day on Wednesday by repeating that it would provide a “fierce and severe” response to any Israeli response.
The attack on Israel, affirmed President Ebrahim Raïssi, was “precise, measured” and “punitive”, in response to the deadly strike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1er April, blamed on Israel.
Almost all of the 350 drones and missiles launched by Iran against Israel, a total load of 85 tons, were intercepted by Israeli air defense, with the help of the United States and other allied countries including the France and the United Kingdom, but also Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
“We cannot stand idly by in the face of such aggression, Iran will not emerge unscathed,” promised Israeli army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on Tuesday.
The form that such a response could take, against Iranian territory or against Iranian interests in a third country, remains uncertain.
New sanctions
The United States, Israel’s staunch ally, quickly made it known that it did not want “an extended war with Iran” and would not participate in an Israeli response.
The White House announced that it would impose, “in the coming days,” “new sanctions targeting Iran, including its drone and missile programs,” its Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Department of Defense.
The European Union is also considering broadening the scope of its sanctions, its head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday.
The idea would, for example, be to extend to other types of weapons, such as missiles, the sanctions already adopted to prohibit the export from the European Union to Iran of components used in the manufacture of drones.
Annalena Baerbock pleaded on Tuesday for new European sanctions on Iranian drones. While assuring Israel of “Germany’s full solidarity”, she also indicated that she wanted to discuss with Israeli leaders ways “to avoid a new escalation”.
David Cameron spoke to British television on Wednesday that the G7 countries, which are meeting this week in Italy, would impose “coordinated sanctions” against Iran, accusing this country of being behind “so much malicious activity” in the region.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, tensions have been growing in the Middle East, involving Israel and Iran, enemies since the Iranian revolution of 1979, and their respective allies.
The Islamic Republic, which calls for the destruction of Israel, had until now refrained from attacking it head-on and the two countries were used to confronting each other through third parties, such as the Yemeni Houthi rebels and Hezbollah. .
The UN calls for donations
After more than six months of war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Tuesday to fight “mercilessly” Hamas, in power in the territory since 2007.
Benjamin Netanyahu in particular maintains his plan for a ground offensive against the town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, a refuge for a million and a half Palestinians.
The army announced Wednesday that its air force had struck “more than 40 targets across the Gaza Strip” the day before and “eliminated numerous terrorists.”
The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza in southern Israel, which left 1,170 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report established from official Israeli data. More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain held in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, and launched an offensive that has so far killed 33,899 people, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
The UN, which fears widespread famine in the territory of 2.4 million inhabitants, launched an appeal on Wednesday for donations of 2.8 billion dollars to help the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The war in Gaza has reignited the debate on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Thursday, the UN Security Council is due to decide on a Palestinian demand to become a full member state of the United Nations, which appears destined to face a new US veto.