G7 releases statement condemning Iran retaliatory attacks on Israel – as it happened

Beirut airport reopened this morning and flights in and out of the Lebanese capital have resumed, BBC News has reported.

In the UK, Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday that last night’s missiles and drone attack was “a significant attack by Iran on Israel”.

“Our message across the region and with our partners is that we must not escalate this. We must contain this and just take time to look at what has happened over the last 12 hours,” she said.

“All of our efforts at the moment are on de-escalating this, we do not want this to go any further because we can all see the human cost to this, and we do not want a miscalculation or an escalation in events because we know that that will take its toll.”

The US embassy in Jerusalem says the “threat of drone and/or missile barrages has diminished” and that the shelter in place order for US government employees and their family members has been lifted.

“However, the previous travel restrictions on US government employees and their family members remain in place. Personal travel is limited to travel within and between Tel Aviv (including Herzliya, Netanya, and Even Yehuda), Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva,” a statement read.

“The US embassy will continue to closely monitor the security environment. Schools across Israel remain closed today, 14 April. Many flights have been canceled or delayed, and travelers are encouraged to check with the airline on the status of their flight. Land border crossings, including Allenby Bridge crossing, are open.”

You can read the full statement here.

The UN security council is set to meet at 4pm ET (2000 GMT) on Sunday after Israel requested it condemn Iran’s attack and designate the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organisation, Reuters reports.

US President Joe Biden has said he will convene a meeting of G7 leaders to “coordinate a united diplomatic response” to Iran’s attack.

Italy, which now holds the rotating G7 presidency, has reportedly called for a virtual meeting to discuss the attack.

Iran’s Fars news agency quoted a source as saying Tehran was closely watching Jordan, which might become the next target in case of any moves in support of Israel.

Here is some more reaction from world leaders to Iran’s attack on Israel last night:

• Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called for restraint, saying on X: “We are following with the greatest concern the evolution of the situation in the Middle East. One must at all cost avoid a regional escalation.”

• The office of Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, expressed its “solidarity and unwavering commitment” to Israel in the face of the attacks. It added that Argentina “emphatically supports the state of Israel in the defence of its sovereignty, especially against regimes that promote terror”, noting an Argentine court recently held Iran responsible for bomb attacks on the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.

• Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Kyiv “strongly condemns Iran’s massive air attack” saying it could lead to “further grave acceleration in the Middle East”. “The attack also demonstrates why it is critical that all of the free world’s forces are consolidated to defend the global borders of democracy.”

• The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said the strikes were “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security” in a message on X.

Other countries, including the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and China, have called for restraint amid fears of a regional escalation of conflict across the Middle East.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, which is an ally of Iran, has defended Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel that began on Saturday.

“We in Hamas regard the military operation conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran a natural right and a deserved response on the crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus and the assassination of several leaders of the Revolutionary Guards,” Hamas said in a statement.

Israel and Hamas have been at war since early October when Hamas attacked Israel and killed about 1,200 people and abducted another 250.

More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 76,000 injured in retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

As we reported earlier, Israel reopened its airspace as of 7:30am local time on Sunday morning.

Flag carrier El Al said it had resumed operations and was “working to stabilise the flight schedule as soon as possible”.

“El Al will continue to operate as much as possible to preserve the air bridge to and from Israel,” it said.

The airline had cancelled 15 flights to Europe, Dubai and Moscow scheduled for Sunday while flights that had taken off from Bangkok and Phuket were forced to return, Reuters reported.

Smaller Israeli carrier Arkia said it was in the process of making adjustments to its flight schedule after initially postponing flights to Athens, Milan and Geneva.

Emirates Airlines announced the cancellation of some of its flights and the re-routing of others, the airline’s spokesperson has said.

Airlines have been cancelling flights and changing routes after Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday evening.

14 Apr 202403.28 EDT

British RAF typhoons 'involved in shooting down' Iranian drones over Syria and Iraq overnight - sources

Dan Sabbagh

British RAF Typhoons are understood to have been involved in shooting down Iranian drones over Syria and Iraq overnight, defence sources have indicated, with confirmation expected in a statement from the Ministry of Defence later.

The UK operation was billed as an extension of the longstanding anti Islamic State bombing and surveillance missions in Iraq and Syria, called Operation Shader.

The RAF also backfilled for US air force on anti Isis operations, so the Americans had a freer hand in helping Israel shoot down the 300 drones and missiles that Israel’s military said were fired overnight.

It was “Shader-plus” said one insider, and given the location of British jets, sources said it was very likely they encountered Iranian drones and missiles in their work.

More information is expected to be released by the UK about the legal basis for British military involvement. There were no references in initial statements to self-defence or helping an ally, but there was a broader call for stability from prime minister Rishi Suank overnight.

“The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq. Alongside our allies, we are urgently working to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants to see more bloodshed,” he said.

Jordan intercepted some flying objects that entered its airspace last night to ensure safety of citizens, a cabinet statement said on Sunday.

“Some shrapnel fell in multiple places during that time without causing any significant damage or any injuries to citizens,” it added.

Israel, with the help of key western allies including the US, UK and Jordan, claimed to have intercepted about 99% of the launches during the mass Iranian strike.