Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called on the international community to condemn the Iranian attack on Israel using the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the April 14 emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.
"For the past years, Ukrainian civilians have been killed from the skies with Iranian weaponry," Erdan said. "President Zelensky, in condemnation of Iran's attack last night, said, and I quote, 'the sound of Iranian Shahed drones, a tool of terror, is the same in the skies over the Middle East and Europe. This sound must serve as a wake-up call to the free world.' Listen to President Zelensky and wake up."
Iran launched 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at Israel during the early hours of April 14. The overwhelming majority were downed outside Israel. A few ballistic missiles entered Israeli territory, causing minor damage to the Nevatim Air Force Base, according to IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari. One seven-year-old girl was also reportedly injured.
The U.N. Security Council then held an emergency session in New York City to discuss the attack. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reportedly opened the session with a warning that the Middle East is “on the brink.”
The attack was in response to Israel’s strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 as part of the broader Israel-Hamas war. In turn, Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in response to attacks by Iran's proxies Hamas and Hezbollah on its territory.
President Zelensky quickly issued a condemnation, saying that Ukraine is familiar with "the horror of similar attacks" and calling on allies to do more to prevent a further escalation in the Middle East.
Iran has provided Russia with its Shahed drones, which Moscow uses to regularly attack Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, often resulting in significant civilian harm.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) said that Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah train Russian drone operators in Syria for deployment in Ukraine.
Israel has largely avoided taking sides in Russia's war against Ukraine and has not provided any meaningful military aid to Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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