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Nyanza15 April 2024 - 14:46

Kalonzo condemns Iran's attack on Israel, calls for restraint amidst Gaza crisis

On Saturday, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel.

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by The Star
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Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has condemned Iran's attack on Israeli territory.

On Saturday, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel.

Israeli military, however, said 99 per cent of the missiles and drones fired by Iran overnight were intercepted without hitting their targets.

In a statement, Kalonzo called on Israel to exercise restraint saying efforts should be directed at ending the war in Gaza.

"I join the international community in condemning the attack on Israel by Iran at a time when all our energies ought to be directed at ending the war in Gaza," Kalonzo said.

"The coordinated united diplomatic response by the Group of Seven is commendable, as is the assurance by President Joe Biden that the US will not take part in any counter-offensive against Iran."

Kalonzo said that the swift action has prevented a worse catastrophe saying that UN should take complete charge to defuse and de-escalate the crisis.

"Neither the Middle East nor the world can afford an all-out war at this time. The Middle East cannot go to war with itself so soon after Easter and Ramadhan celebrations," he said.

Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in retaliation for an April 1 deadly strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, which killed senior Iranian commanders.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack was aimed at "specific targets"

Israel has not said it carried out the consulate strike but is widely believed to have been behind it.

Iran's attack is the first time the country had attacked Israel directly.

The two states had previously been engaged in a years-long shadow war - attacking each other's assets without admitting responsibility.

The animosity between them escalated considerably during the current war in Gaza sparked by Hamas's assault on nearby Israeli communities on October 7.

The two countries were allies until the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which brought in a regime that opposed Israel as a key part of its ideology.

Iran does not recognise Israel's right to exist and seeks its eradication to free Palestine.

Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has previously called Israel a "cancerous tumour" that "will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed".

US President Joe Biden pledged "ironclad" support in the wake of the missle attacks on Israel saying "We helped Israel take down nearly all" of them.

In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the military is “ready for any scenario”.

President William Ruto on Sunday condemned the attack urging restraint.

"This disturbing development only aggravates an already delicate situation in the Middle East," Ruto said in relation to the Gaza conflict.

"The (Iran) attack represents a real and present threat to international peace and security, contravenes the Charter of the United Nations and should be condemned by all peace-loving countries," Ruto said.

"In responding to this act of aggression, Kenya urges Israel to show utmost restraint taking into account the urgent need for all parties to walk away from the brink beyond which recovery will be enormously difficult."


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