Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet met Monday for the second consecutive day to discuss Israel’s response to the Iranian attack. “Israel retains all its options,” government spokesman David Mencer said at a news briefing. “We reserve the right to do everything in our power, and we will do everything in our power to defend this country.”
The White House has emphasized that it wants to de-escalate tensions in the region and would not take part in any offensive Israeli reprisal. On Sunday, President Biden met virtually with the Group of Seven <https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/14/biden-netanyahu-israel-iran/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7>, and there were discussions about additional sanctions against Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a member of the war cabinet, expressed appreciation for the role played by the United States in thwarting the Iranian attack in a call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday evening, according to an Israeli readout. “Minister Gallant highlighted the opportunity to establish an international coalition and strategic alliance to counter the threat posed by Iran,” the statement continued. Israeli media previously reported <https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/war-cabinet-yet-to-decide-on-response-to-irans-attack-gantz-reportedly-wanted-to-hit-back-last-night/> that the group did not agree on a course of action after several hours of discussion in a meeting on Sunday. According to the Israeli military radio station Galatz <https://twitter.com/yanircozin/status/1779744113031614576?s=46&t=RyjxkEgQcJLVY_WhzINJ3g>, that meeting included talks about the possibility that Israel could delay its response against Iran to join a U.S.-led diplomatic coalition that would impose sanctions on Tehran. Israel’s war cabinet was formed in response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/12/israel-unity-government-netanyahu-gantz/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10> to oversee the war in Gaza and includes Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz. KR IRS 16424 KR IRS -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoo3ik6ocbNKzNB9F015LtH3VeJwXkqP1Ch3qNYo4Z5L6w%40mail.gmail.com.
