TEL AVIV: Israel and Iran traded threats after Tehran's first ever direct attack on its arch foe sharply heightened Middle East tensions and as the Gaza war ground on with no truce in sight.
Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi vowed "a response" after Iran and its allies launched a barrage of over 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel.
Iran said its large-scale attack was an act of self-defence following a deadly Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria, and that it would consider the matter "concluded" unless Israel retaliated.
US President Joe Biden stressed that "the United States is committed to Israel's security" but also that he wants to prevent the conflict from spreading.
Washington, Israel's top ally and arms supplier, has made clear it will not join Israel in any attack on their common adversary Iran, a senior US official said.
World leaders have urged restraint since Iran's attack, which has sparked a flurry of crisis diplomacy and sent up oil prices while depressing stock markets.
In Gaza, where the war raged on, Biden said, "we're committed to a ceasefire that will bring the captives home and prevent the conflict from spreading beyond what it already has".
Israel kept its bombing of targets in Gaza, the coastal territory that has been largely devastated by more than six months of war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has twice convened his war cabinet, set up after the October 7 attack that sparked the bloodiest ever Gaza war.
Israel was weighing its options after the Iranian drone and missile onslaught, which caused little damage as Israeli defences intercepted most projectiles.
It remained unclear when Israel might strike and whether it would target Iran directly or attack its interests or allies abroad, including in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
In Iran, nuclear facilities were temporarily closed over "security considerations", said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.
On Monday, Israel made its first official comment on the deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that prompted Tehran's attack.
The strike on April 1 levelled the five-storey building and killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
"These were people who engaged in fighting against the State of Israel," said Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari. "There was not a single diplomat there as far as I know."
Israel's military has vowed the Iran tensions will not distract it from the ongoing war in Gaza where it aims to destroy Palestinian groups and bring home the captives. — AFP
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