Israel's foreign minister on Tuesday said he's leading a "diplomatic offensive" against Iran following Saturday's unprecedented attack on Israel and amid global efforts to calm tensions between the two counties to prevent a wider war in the Middle East.
Israel Katz said in a social media post that he's calling for sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that "the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization ... to curb and weaken Iran." Katz's efforts included sending letters to 32 countries and conversations with dozens of foreign ministers.
"Iran must be stopped now - before it is too late," he said.
Other diplomatic efforts were also underway to bring down the temperature. In Brussels, the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council was set to meet. In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she will travel to Israel on Tuesday.
"It is incredibly important for us as the German federal government in these fragile times that we all work together to contribute to de-escalation for the entire region," Baerbock said at a news conference with her Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.
Developments:
∎ More than 33,800 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7. Over 76,000 people have been injured, and thousands more are feared buried beneath the rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths, though it says most of the dead are women and children.
∎ The Israeli military said on Telegram that two armed drones crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory on Tuesday and exploded in the area of Beit Hillel, a town in northern Israel. "The incident is under review," the military said in a statement. Throughout the day, the Israeli military reported active sirens in northern Israel and "a community near the Gaza Strip."
∎The Israeli military, using tanks, killed "a number" of Hamas militants in central Gaza along with military compounds, tunnels and a missile launcher, the military said on Telegram.
∎Ruth Patir, the artist representing Israel at the Venice Biennale art fair, said she was refusing to open the national pavilion until a cease-fire and hostage deal was reached. "I feel that the time for art is lost," Ruth Patir wrote in a statement on Instagram. "And so if I am given such a remarkable stage, I want to make it count."
Over 10,000 Palestinian women killed in Gaza war, U.N. says
A new U.N. report estimates over 10,000 Palestinian women – including more than 6,000 mothers – have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza.
The report released Tuesday said more than 19,000 children have been orphaned and that over 1 million women still in Gaza are facing a barrage of threats amid a worsening humanitarian disaster.
"Women who have survived have been displaced, widowed and facing starvation," the U.S. report says. "More than one million women and girls in Gaza have almost no food, no access to safe water, latrines, washrooms, or sanitary pads, with disease growing amidst inhumane living conditions."
After scrutiny from the U.S. and global outrage over the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel said last week that it had opened a northern crossing and that it would open a port in southern Israel to receive and deliver aid shipments.
The U.N. on Tuesday said "Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance" and that distribution of the aid remains a large barrier to getting desperately needed aid and supplies into the hands of Palestinian civilians.
"The High Commissioner repeats that there must be an immediate cease-fire, the hostages must be released, and full, unfettered humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow immediately," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, said at a briefing in Geneva.
Israeli War Cabinet to meet for third time on response to Iranian attack
Israel's War Cabinet was scheduled to meet on Tuesday for at least the third time in three days to weigh a responseto Iran'smissile and drone blitz, which was launched over a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy compound in Syria. The April 1 attack killed seven Iranian military officers.
Military chief of staff Herzi Halevi had promised the Iranian attack "will be met with aresponse" but gave no details. No decision as been announced.
President Joe Biden said that the U.S. – which along with Israel and Jordan intercepted hundreds of missiles and drones launched from Iran – will continue to defend its ally but will not be part of any retaliatory measure against Iran for Saturday's attack.
Hamas drops number of hostages it would free in latest truce plan
Hamas has dropped the number of hostages it says it will release during the initial phase of a temporary cease-fire from 40 to 20, CNN reported, citing an Israeli source and a senior Biden administration official.
The significant development in peace talks comes after Hamas told negotiators last week that it could not locate many of the 40 captives – female, elderly and sick hostages – that Israel sought to have released in an initial phase of a hostage deal. CNN reported that in the latest counterproposal, fewer than 20 hostages were offered by Hamas for a temporary cease-fire.
Israel had asked for the release of the 40 captives in exchange for the concession that Israel would allow 150,000 displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza without security checks – an agreement proposed by the U.S.
Iran says it will respond to any action 'against its interests'
President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday that Iran will respond to any action against its interests, Reuters reported, citing the Iranian Student News Agency.
"We categorically declare that the smallest action against Iranian interests will certainly be met with a severe, widespread and painful response against any perpetrator," Raisi told the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
On Monday night, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's deputy Foreign Minister, told state TV that Tehran's response to any Israeli retaliation would happen in "a matter of seconds as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond."
Why did Iran strike Israel?
Iran's missile and drone barrage was retaliation for Israel's suspected strike on Iran's embassy in Damascus, which killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers, including two top commanders, on April 1.
The strike followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies and was triggered by the war in Gaza, which has spread to fronts with Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
The Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked Israeli border communities, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages. Israel responded with a bombardment of Gaza that has gutted the enclave, triggered a humanitarian crisis and left thousands dead.
Contributing: Susan Miller, Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; Reuters
