Israel-Gaza live updates: Netanyahu, war cabinet to again meet on response

(NEW YORK) — Iran on Saturday night unleashed a retaliatory strike against Israel, sending a volley of more than 300 uncrewed drones and missiles toward targets throughout the country, Israeli military officials said. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.

The attack on Israel came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded the country on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Apr 16, 9:18 AM
Yellen to Iran: US ‘will not hesitate’ to issue new sanctions

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning Iran that the U.S. “will not hesitate” to impose new sanctions in response to Iran’s “unprecedented attack” on Israel.

“Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity,” Yellen is expected to say at a Tuesday press conference. “The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury’s work to use our economic tools to counter Iran’s malign activity.”

Yellen’s message follows President Joe Biden’s Sunday meeting with the G7 nations, during which the leaders discussed a coordinated effort on sanction measures.

Apr 16, 6:31 AM
Israeli war cabinet to consider response again Tuesday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet is expected to meet again on Tuesday to consider an Israeli response to Iran’s weekend attack.

“We are closely assessing the situation. We remain at our highest level of readiness,” Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said on Monday. “Iran will face the consequences for its actions.”

Halevi added Israel would “choose our response accordingly.”

Apr 16, 6:14 AM
UN watchdog calls for de-escalation in Israel-Iran conflict

United Nations officials called on Tuesday for Israel and Iran to de-escalate their conflict, saying the retaliatory military attacks “violate the right to life and must cease immediately.”

“All countries are prohibited from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life in military operations abroad, including when countering terrorism,” the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a press release, quoting U.N. officials described as “experts.”

The retaliatory strikes by both countries may constitute the “international crime of aggression by civilian and military leaders responsible,” those officials said, according to the statement.