Live updates: Iran launches barrage of strikes toward Israel
From CNN's Philip Wang and Irene Nasser
China has expressed "deep concern" over the "current escalation" following Iran's attack on Israel, according to a spokesperson for its Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, adding that it is a "spillover of the Gaza conflict" and a ceasefire should be implemented without delay.
In a statement, China called "on relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint to prevent further escalations."
"The ongoing situation is the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict," the spokesperson said, adding that a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas should be implemented without any more delay.
Beijing did not name or condemn Hamas in the wake of the initial October 7 attacks. Since then, it has condemned the war and been a vocal proponent of an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of a “two-state” solution.
Last month, Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian met Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, the first meeting between a Chinese and Hamas official publicly acknowledged by Beijing since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Wang’s visit follows efforts by Beijing to step up its profile as a peace broker in the Middle East conflict.
From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky
US forces intercepted more than 70 one-way attack drones and at least three ballistic missiles during Iran's attack on Israel, according to two US officials familiar with the situation.
The ballistic missiles were intercepted by warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, one of the officials said. Iran launched more than 100 ballistic missiles in total at Israel, according to a senior administration official.
US fighter jets were also part of the response to Iran’s attack on Saturday and shot down drones launched towards Israel, another US official told CNN.
From CNN’s Lauren Koenig
US President Joe Biden will meet with G7 leaders Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” according to a statement released by the White House.
US defensive assets moved to the region earlier this week and “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” according to the statement.
Biden also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following Saturday’s attack “to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.”
I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” the president wrote.
From CNN’s Sara Smart
At least three United Airlines flights headed to or departing from the Middle East have been canceled amid the ongoing conflict unfolding between Iran and Israel.
On Saturday a flight from Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv, a flight from Washington D.C. to Amman, Jordan, and one from Dubai to Newark were canceled, the airline told CNN in a statement.
We are closely monitoring the situation and will make decisions on upcoming flights with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews,” the airline said.
There have been no changes to any Sunday flights for United as of Saturday night, according to the airline.
CNN has reached out to other airlines regarding cancellations.
From CNN's MJ Lee
The US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran, US President Joe Biden has made clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior administration official told CNN.
The comments were relayed during the phone call that the two leaders shared in the aftermath of Iran's retaliatory strikes against Israel.
From CNN's MJ Lee
Israel should consider tonight a win because the current US assessment is that Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, President Joe Biden told Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their phone call, a senior administration official told CNN.
From CNN's Heather Chen
John Bolton, the former US national security adviser and ambassador to the UN, said “passivity at this point for Israel would be a big mistake,” warning of more attacks.
“This is not time to play academic games and message and signal. This is a question of power,” Bolton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. "If they came from a different location containing nuclear warheads, Israel might not be so lucky.”
A known Iran policy hawk, Bolton served in senior national security positions during the Trump and Bush administrations. A neoconservative, Bolton has in the past advocated war with Iran and a pre-emptive strike on North Korea.
In 2022, he was the target of an alleged assassination attempt orchestrated by a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He has warned against underestimating Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has said is for peaceful purposes only.
“I think we have enough experience with faulty intelligence by now, not to be so sure, not to know how much of Iran’s uranium enrichment program is really being conducted under a mountain in North Korea,” Bolton said.
If Tehran sent “a wire transfer to Pyongyang,” it would give the North Koreans “enough time to put a couple of warheads on an airplane and fly them to Tehran. (But) if you take away their nuclear capability, that would be a dramatic hit to the regime, maybe enough to topple it.”
More than 55 rockets have been fired from Lebanon to Israel over the past hour, according to the Israeli military's spokesperson.
This comes after about 40 rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Hezbollah militants said they had fired the rockets at Israeli artillery positions in response to recent Israeli attacks and in support of Palestinian people in Gaza.
Remember: Since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on October 7, Israel's flare-up with Hezbollah has intensified on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
Hezbollah — a Lebanese armed group backed by Iran — has its main area of operations there. Hezbollah has frequently fired missiles into Israel since October 7 and Israel has responded with its own fire, including airstrikes. Israel has ordered the evacuation of communities along the Lebanese border.
From CNN’s Oren Liebermann
The wave of strikes launched from Iran towards Israel appears to have subsided, two US officials said. The attacks lasted approximately five hours.
Early Sunday morning in Israel, the country’s Home Front Command canceled its request for citizens to remain near shelters, an indication that the Israeli military believes the immediate threat of incoming attack has passed.
The US, along with Israel, monitored the barrage of drone and missile attacks that began Saturday night and continued into early Sunday morning. The number of launches appeared to fall during Sunday's early hours, the officials said.
However, even as the number of Iranian drone and missile launches has fallen, Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon fired a barrage of rockets at northern Israel early Sunday morning.
