What was being feared now looks like happening. The Israel-Hamas conflict is fast deteriorating into a regional conflagration with Iran launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in its first direct attack on the Jewish state’s territory. This, according to Iran, is a retaliatory assault that wounded a seven-year-old girl and caused minor damage at an Israeli military facility in the southern parts of the country.
The late night 13 April attack set off air raid sirens in cities across Israel, including Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem, and explosions were heard as air defences intercepted the projectiles. The Israeli military said the Iranian salvo consisted of more than 300 killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, but that 99 per cent were intercepted with the help of forces from France, the United Kingdom and the United States. The launches came from Iran, Iraq and Yemen which only shows how the war is spreading in the region. Iran has justified the attack saying that it was but a retaliation against Israel for a deadly air raid on its consulate in Damascus in which seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals, were killed. That seems to be a dress rehearsal for a bigger warfare between Iran and Israel, as analysts say, raising fears of a regional war. Israel’s hawkish policy to pound Gaza following the Hamas attack on its soil 7 October, 2023 has already left over 30,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, dead, driven millions homeless and created a famine-like situation in Gaza. The way the ultra-right wing-driven government of Israel has gone after Hamas has been repeatedly condemned by several international bodies.
The humanitarian crisis that has resulted has made even its greatest ally, the USA, talk tough and call for ceasefire. But, US President’s Joe Biden’s backing and mild admonitions from time to time have only encouraged Israel to continue with its relentless attacks with impunity. Israel was looking for an opportunity to divert global attention from its mindless hostility in Gaza and the air raid on Iran’s embassy in Damascus appears to have been engineered with that end in view. Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the attack, which only confirmed that it was its handiwork. The USA only tried to convince Iran that it was not involved in it, but it has not yet uttered a word of condemnation of the attack that violated international laws. Iran, a known supporter of Hamas, had so long been letting its proxies – the Hezbollah and Houthis – attack Israel to express solidarity with Hamas. But, the raid on its embassy in Damascus left it with no other option but to launch a direct attack on Israel. Otherwise, Iran would have had a loss of face before its friendly outfits. The brinkmanship and resulting tensions have put further strain on Washington’s foreign policy. Already, the US is being perceived to be hypocritical for offering unconditional support to Israel and trying to prevent the conflict in Gaza from expanding. Biden should have pulled up Israel for attacking the Iranian embassy and endangering US troops in the region. But, his administration is rewarding the Israeli government by promising to provide “ironclad” support to it, instead. The US is calling on all the other parties in the region to be restrained, constantly telling the Iranians not to escalate, while virtually encouraging Israelis to act with impunity. Iran’s pledge to retaliate appears to have been prompted by the perception that the US and Israel believe they can cause harm without triggering a strong reaction from Tehran, which does not want to wage a regional war. The Israeli military has been targeting Iran-linked sites in Syria for years and it did not escalate the situation. But, bombing Iran’s diplomatic facility in Damascus is a completely different proposition constituting a brazen act that should not go unanswered. As Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserted, the consulate and embassy offices in any country are considered to be the territory of that country and when “they attack our consulate, it means they have attacked our territory.” The escalation in the Middle East is already having its effects on other parts of the world. India has warned its citizens against travel to Israel and Iran. In an advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs also urged Indians residing in Iran and Israel to exercise utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to minimum.
Till now Iran, as its spokesperson claims, has restricted its attack to Israel’s military installations. It is to be seen how far Iran can go. This will determine whether it could be a turning point in the Gaza conflict. At this juncture, the world can ill afford another war.