Tel Aviv: As the conflict in the Middle East escalated with Iran's involvement, Alex Gandler, Deputy Spokesperson of the Israel Ministry of External Affairs, said it is not a 'tit-for-tat' game for Tel Aviv and it has "straetgic goals" to defeat all the proxies of Tehran.
In an interview with ANI, Gandler, said that no loss of life or injury took place in the attack because of the capabilities of the Israeli air defence system and its coalition.
"We saw around 180 rockets, fired at Israel yesterday by Iran and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Most of the rockets were intercepted by our air defence system and also by our coalition members who were defending Israel and stability in the region," he said.
The Israeli spokesperson further said that Tel Aviv is working to defeat "all the proxies" of Tehran, and it would target freeing buffer regions from Iran's stronghold.
"It's not a game of tit-for-tat for us, it might be them, but not for us...We have strategic goals to deal with Iran. Israel is working to defeat all the proxies of Iran, be it Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, or others...Our understanding is that Iran has opened up a global front against Israel," Gandler said.
"Our response would be to free buffers and those countries (having proxies) from the stronghold of Iran...No loss of life and no injury occurred (in the Iranian attack) and that is because of the capabilities of our air defence system and our coalition that is helping Iran to defeat Iran," he added.
Being asked about United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres being declared 'persona non grata' in Israel, Gandler said that Guterres has not been helpful in any way throughout Israel's conflict with Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
"United Nations Secretary General has been called persona non-grata by our Foreign Minister. There is a reason for that, the secretary general has not been helpful in any way throughout this conflict of ours with Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Not only that, he unfortunately stood on their side several times, just last night, instead of condemning the acts of Iran. He wished for this wonderful ...of peace in Middle East instead of pointing the finger at exactly the right culprit who were Iran shooting at civilians in Israel," he further said.
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The Israeli spokesperson also lauded India-Israel ties and said the relationship is "extremely solid" on the front of economy, defence and people-to-people ties.
"We have a great friendship with India...The relationship between our countries is extremely solid, especially on the economic front, also in defence and mutual values...This people-to-people peace which is the warmest kind of peace you can have will continue and that is the most important thing," Gandler further said.
This comes after the situation in West Asia escalated following Iran's launch of nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards targets in Israel.US Naval destroyers joined Israeli air defence units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Iran's missile attack on his country as a "big mistake" and said "Tehran would pay for it."A day after Iran targeted Israel with a rocket barrage, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) called on Lebanese civilians in two dozen villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
Following the attacks, Iranian Foreign Ministry, called it a response to Zionist regime's aggressive actions, as part of its "inherent right to self-defense". He also criticised Israel for the killings of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
"In accordance with the inherent right to self-defense, as enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, and in response to the Zionist regime's aggressive actions--including the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement in Tehran who was an official guest of the Iranian government, as well as the assassination of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah and General Nilforoushan, Iran's senior military advisor in Beirut--the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out a series of missile strikes on the night of Tuesday, 1 October 2024, targeting the military and security installations of the Zionist regime," Iran's foreign ministry stated.
"Iran's resort to the right of self-defense, after long-term restraint, reflects its responsible approach to regional and international peace and security at a time when the illegal actions and genocidal policies of the apartheid occupying Zionist regime against the Palestinian people and its repeated military aggressions against Lebanon and Syria continue unabated," it added.
—ANI