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Israel Wants to 'Hurt' Iran without Causing All-out War

An Israeli Air Force fighter at an unidentified airport on Sunday (AFP)
An Israeli Air Force fighter at an unidentified airport on Sunday (AFP)
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Israel Wants to 'Hurt' Iran without Causing All-out War

An Israeli Air Force fighter at an unidentified airport on Sunday (AFP)
An Israeli Air Force fighter at an unidentified airport on Sunday (AFP)

The Israeli war cabinet decided to respond to Iran “without causing an all-out war,” after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government discussed “a wide range of options,” developed by Israeli army commanders, to strike in retaliation for the Iranian missile attack on Saturday.

Israeli Army Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi said on Monday that Israel would respond to the attack. Speaking from the Nevatim air base in southern Israel, which suffered some damage in the attack, he added: “This launching of many missiles, cruise missiles and drones on Israeli territory will be met with a response.”

The Israeli Channel 12 reported that the war cabinet discussed a set of options at its meeting, Monday, with the aim of harming Iran after its attack with drones and missiles on Israel, but without causing a comprehensive war.

In a report, the channel said that Israel’s intention was to initiate action in coordination with the United States, which said would not participate with Israel in any direct attack on Iran.

Early on Tuesday, Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner told reporters that military officials had presented the government with a range of options for responding to the Iranian strike on Israel.

He added that Israel’s response may or may not involve a military strike, pointing to many different scenarios between these two options, according to the American ABC News network.

Israel remains on high alert, but the authorities have canceled some emergency measures, including bans on some school activities and restrictions on large gatherings.

Two Israeli sources told CNN on Monday that the war cabinet was studying military options to respond to the Iranian attack, including targeting an Iranian facility while avoiding casualties. In addition to the possible military response, the Israeli war cabinet is also studying diplomatic options to increase Iran’s isolation on the global stage, according to CNN.

The two sources, who were not named by the news network, reported that Israel was about to take its first steps towards launching a ground attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this week, but postponed those plans while it was considering a response to the recent Iranian strike.

Meanwhile, the Russian Interfax agency reported that Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian National Security Council, discussed the escalating tensions in the Middle East with the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi.

The agency quoted the Russian Security Council as saying that Patrushev indicated the need for all parties to exercise restraint to prevent escalation of the conflict. The Kremlin said earlier, on Monday, that it was deeply concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Middle East following the attack launched by Iran with missiles and drones on Israel.

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Aid Rushes Into Myanmar after Quake Kills Over 1,600

A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
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Aid Rushes Into Myanmar after Quake Kills Over 1,600

A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

Myanmar's neighbors sent warships and aircraft laden with relief materials and rescue personnel on Sunday, as international aid gained steam after a massive earthquake ravaged much of the poor Southeast Asian nation.
At least 1,600 people have been killed and 3,400 injured by Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, its military government said.
"All military and civilian hospitals, as well as healthcare workers, must work together in a coordinated and efficient manner to ensure effective medical response," said the junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, according to state-run media.
The US Geological Service's predictive modelling estimated Myanmar's death toll could top 10,000 and losses could exceed the country's annual economic output, Reuters reported.
The quake jolted parts of neighboring Thailand, bringing down an under-construction skyscraper and killing 17 people across the capital, according to Thai authorities. At least 78 people remained trapped under the debris of the collapsed building.
The deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in years damaged critical infrastructure, including an airport, highways and bridges, slowing humanitarian operations, according to the United Nations.
The quake hit a nation already in chaos with a civil war that has escalated since the 2021 military coup, which ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked a nationwide armed uprising.
The fighting has battered the largely agrarian economy of Myanmar, formerly called Burma, displaced over 3.5 million people and left essential services, such as healthcare, in tatters.
The opposition National Unity Government, which includes remnants of the previous administration, said anti-junta militias under its command would pause all offensive military actions for two weeks from Sunday.
"The NUG, together with resistance forces, allied organizations and civil society groups, will carry out rescue operations," it said in a statement.
In some of the country's hardest hit areas, residents told Reuters that government assistance was scarce so far, leaving people to fend for themselves.
The entire town of Sagaing near the quake's epicenter was devastated, said resident Han Zin.
"What we are seeing here is widespread destruction - many buildings have collapsed into the ground," he said by phone, adding that much of the town had been without electricity since the disaster hit and drinking water was running out.
"We have received no aid, and there are no rescue workers in sight."
Across the Irrawaddy river in Mandalay, a rescue worker said most operations in the country's second-largest city were being conducted by small, self-organized resident groups that lack the required equipment.
"We have been approaching collapsed buildings, but some structures remain unstable while we work,” he said, asking not to be named because of security concerns.
Scores of people were feared trapped under collapsed buildings across Mandalay but most could not be reached or pulled out without heavy machinery, another humanitarian worker and two residents said.
"People are still stuck in the buildings, they can't take people out," said a resident who asked not to be named.
Hospitals in parts of central and northwestern Myanmar, including Mandalay and Sagaing, were struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
India, China and Thailand are among the neighbors that have sent relief materials and teams, along with aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia.
Indian military aircraft made multiple sorties into Myanmar on Saturday, including ferrying supplies and search-and-rescue crews to Naypyitaw, the purpose-made capital, parts of which have been wrecked by the earthquake.
The Indian army will help set up a field hospital in Mandalay, and two navy ships carrying supplies are heading to Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon, said Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Multiple teams of Chinese rescue personnel have arrived, including one that crossed in overland from its southwestern province of Yunnan, China's embassy in Myanmar said on social media.
A 78-member team from Singapore, accompanied by rescue dogs, was operating in Mandalay on Sunday, Myanmar state-media said.