Editorial: Chain of retribution must stop after Iran missile and drone attack on Israel

Iran has unleashed over 300 drones and missiles on Israel. Some of them landed within Israeli territory, leaving a young girl wounded and causing damage to an air force base. Most of the weapons were intercepted with the assistance of Israeli allies including the United States, Britain and Jordan.

Amid the continued battle in the Gaza Strip, one of the two Palestinian territories, conflicts in the Middle East must not escalate.

Iran has long been at odds with Israel. Teheran previously relied on attacks by pro-Iranian proxies, such as Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi militant group. Iran’s latest action marked its first direct attack on Israel.

In early April, the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus was bombarded, killing senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran claims that its recent attack was in retaliation for this.

Iran announced that it had launched missiles and drones after notifying surrounding countries in advance. This unusual move was apparently aimed at preventing civilian casualties. After the operation, Tehran called it a huge success and that the attack was over, implying that it was not willing to escalate.

The focus is now on how Israel will respond. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at a counterstrike, warning, “We’ll harm those who harm us.” If the two countries engage in a series of tit-for-tat attacks, the situation will only escalate, raising the risk of Israel opening an all-out war against Iran.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned, “Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” and, “The Middle East is on the brink. … It’s time to step back from the brink.” With the bloody backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, he sounded an alarm against letting another war break out.

The Group of Seven major industrialized countries held an online summit, and released a statement saying, “We, the Leaders of the G7, unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel,” calling for Tehran and its allies to cease their strikes.

The statement also said, “We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation,” signifying their will to put all their effort into calming the situation.

Obviously, the conflict in Palestine is further destabilizing the region. First and foremost, Israel must halt its attacks on Gaza.

We must break the chain of retaliation. We urge the United States and the rest of the international community to exhaust all diplomatic efforts on this.