Daily Briefing The Day After Iran attacks Israel: G-7 Urges Israel not to retaliate after while the War Cabinet has other ideas for a counter-attack

Jim Williams covers the war between Israel and Hamas filing written and video reports daily on issues from the Middle East.

Today was a busy day in Israel after the first time in history that Iran attacked the Jewish state on its soil.

Saturday night into Sunday morning Iran sent over 350 drones, and missiles targeted for at cities throughout Israel.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN ISRAEL

Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s five-member war cabinet favored retaliation in a meeting on Sunday, though the panel is divided over the timing and scale of any such response. The issue is when and how strong should the attack be?

WHAT HAPPENED SATURDAY NIGHT

Early in the day I attended via zoom a “Briefing with Brig. Gen. (res) Yossi Kuperwasser on Iranian attack to get a military perspective.

Also I was able to attend via zoom a briefing with missile and UAV expert Tal Inbar on Iranian attack

IN WASHINGTON

President Joe Biden met via secure video line with the G-7 countries and here is the readout.

G7 Leaders’ Statement on Iran’s Attack Against Israel

We, the Leaders of the G7, unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel. Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. Israel, with the help of its partners, defeated the attack.

We express our full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security.

With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided. We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.

We will also strengthen our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.

MORE TO COME MONDAY