Iranian president says Israel attack reaction to Hamas leader’s death

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The President of Iran says he does not want to be at war with Israel and blamed the country for the increasing violence in the Middle East, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

President Masoud Pezeshkian is currently visiting Qatar, one day after more than 180 ballistic missiles from Iran bombarded Israel.

“We will respond with greater force” if Israel “persists in its actions,” said Pezeshkian during a state media broadcast, per NBC News.

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“The crimes committed by Israel are unmatched in history,” he said.

He said the Iranian attack against Israel was spurred by Israel’s strike in Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was there for the new president’s inauguration.

“We also want security and peace. It was Israel that assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran,” Pezeshkian said, according to Iran’s Student News Network, Reuters reported.

Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel after Iran attacks

On Wednesday morning, rockets were being fired at Israel from Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.

No injuries from the latest barrage of rockets have been reported, according to the Jewish News Syndicate and the Times of Israel. The publications reported that the rockets were fired toward the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area.

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi released a statement about the Iranian attack and the military’s next steps.

“On the eve of the holiday, the IDF is operating and striking on all fronts,” he said.

“IDF soldiers will mark the holiday in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and on all the borders, with reinforced forces and heightened readiness.”

Also on Wednesday, the IDF released the names of those killed “during combat against Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon” in a post on X.

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Biden discussed Iran’s ‘unacceptable attack’ on G7 call

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to G7 leaders about Iran’s “unacceptable attack against Israel,”  according to a briefing released by the White House. The call, which took place on Wednesday, was to “coordinate on a response to this attack, including new sanctions,” the briefing said.

Biden condemned the attack and said that the U.S. was fully in support of Israel. The president “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”

Hamas takes responsibility for fatal attack in Tel Aviv-Jaffa

Terrorist organization Hamas has claimed responsibility for a shooting terror attack in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, the Times of Israel reported Wednesday.

The attack occurred Tuesday night — the same night Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel. Seven people were killed.

The two terrorists who carried out the attack were identified as Mohammad Mesek and Ahmed Himouni. They were stopped by police officers at the scene, the Jewish News Syndicate reported. Per the publication, Mesek was killed at the scene and Himouni was severely injured.

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According to Hamas, they are members of the terrorist organization.

More IDF soldiers join the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon

The IDF is intensifying its ground operations against Hezbollah.

“The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday,” the IDF announced.

The Israeli Air Force and 282nd Artillery Brigade are supporting ground forces.

The 98th Division and the 7th Brigade’s armoured units have been preparing for the ground invasion for several weeks. The 98th Division joined the Northern Command after months of fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The IDF on Wednesday for a second consecutive day called on people to evacuate villages in Southern Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister calls Iranian attack ‘big mistake’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran in the aftermath of the attack that it “made a big mistake and will pay for it.”

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He also said at the start of a Security Cabinet meeting held in a secure bunker in Jerusalem that the strike on Israel “failed” and was “thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense system, which is the most advanced in the world.”

“The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies. They will understand. We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us, we will attack him,” Netanyahu said.

UN chief demands an end to the escalating violence in the Middle East

The United Nations chief is demanding a halt to the escalation of “tit-for-tat violence” that he warned is leading people in the Middle East “straight over the cliff.”

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday that in just a week the alarming situation in Lebanon has gone from bad “to much, much worse.”

“It is absolutely essential to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon, which would have profound and devastating consequences,” he said.

Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack against Israel. He also criticized attacks against Israel by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon, and he lambasted Israel for the “most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general” — referring to the conflict in Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

“It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza,” he said. “It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. … It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff.”

With additional reporting by the Jewish News Syndicate and the Associated Press

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