Israel defence minister vows forceful response following Iran missile launches

News24

3 hours ago

Saeed Qaq/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Israeli military detected missiles from Iran headed toward Israel.
Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to respond.
This comes just hours after a ceasefire announcement.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he ordered the country's military to respond forcefully to what he said was Iran's violation of a ceasefire with Israel.
The directive followed an announcement by the military that it had detected missile launches from Iran toward Israel.
The Israeli military told the public to enter protected spaces and remain there until further notice.
Less than three hours earlier, US President Donald Trump had said that the ceasefire was now in effect.
Katz said the military had now been instructed to carry out high-intensity operations against targets in Tehran.
READ | 3 killed in Israel following Trump Iran ceasefire announcement
AFP reported that Iraq reopened its airspace on Tuesday, 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel war, aviation authorities said, following Israel's acceptance of a ceasefire plan announced by Trump.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced the 'reopening of Iraqi airspace to international air traffic, following a comprehensive assessment of the security situation and coordination with relevant national and international authorities'.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Trump's call for a sequential ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and appealed to the two parties to adhere to it, in a post on his X account on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
'If this ceasefire succeeds after the decisive US military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, it is a very good development,' Merz wrote.
The German leader said he would discuss ways to stabilise the situation with American and European partners on the sidelines of Tuesday's NATO summit.
China urged Iran and Israel on Tuesday to seek a 'political resolution' to their conflict.
'The Chinese side calls on relevant parties to return to the correct path of political resolution at an early date,' foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
China said it 'hoped that a ceasefire can be achieved as soon as possible'.
'The facts have proven that military means cannot bring peace and dialogue and negotiations are the right path to solving problems,' Guo added.
'The Chinese side is willing to work together with the international community to contribute efforts to maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East region,' he said.