Morning Briefing: April 15, 2024

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Monday with, including Israel calling off response to Iranian attack, the UN chief's remarks about Iran-Israel tensions, Israel's airstrike at a refugee camp in Gaza, and Turkish foreign minister's phone call to his Iranian counterpart.

TOP STORIES

• Israel calls off response to Iranian attack at last minute: State media

Israel called off its immediate response to Iran's overnight drone and missile attack at the last minute after a phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, the Israeli public broadcaster reported on Sunday.

The broadcaster said the War Cabinet and the ministerial council supported a direct attack on Iranian territory, but the phone conversation between Biden and Netanyahu changed their decision.

Earlier on Sunday, the War Cabinet convened at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv to weigh a response to Tehran.

• UN chief says world cannot afford more war

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Sunday for "maximum restraint" as Israel discussed ways to respond to a retaliatory attack by Iran for an April 1 Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria, saying the world cannot afford more war.

"Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint," Guterres told an emergency session of the UN Security Council which was convened on an urgent request by Israel.

"Neither the region nor the world can afford more war," Guterres stressed.

• Casualties reported in Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp

The Israeli army killed three Palestinians and injured several others in an airstrike late Sunday targeting a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

“Three martyrs and others injured were brought to Al-Awda Hospital as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the home of the Arabi family northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp,” said an Anadolu correspondent, quoting a medical source who requested anonymity.

He added that the ongoing bombardment completely destroyed the Hassan al-Banna Mosque west of Nuseirat.

• Türkiye does not want further escalation in region, Foreign Minister Fidan tells Iranian counterpart

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday told his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian that Türkiye does not want any further escalation in the region after Tehran's retaliation against Israel.

According to information obtained from diplomatic sources, in a phone call, the Iranian top diplomat said the retaliatory operation against Israel has ended and that Iran will not launch a new operation unless it is attacked.

Amir-Abdollahian further stated that if Iran is attacked again, it will give a "stronger response" this time.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed Rafah’s ground offensive, following Iran’s attack on Israel, the country's public broadcaster said Sunday.

• The Israeli army said on Sunday it intercepted a “suspicious aerial object” in the city of Eilat, coming from the Red Sea area.

• A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea early Monday, the US Geological Survey reported.

• Jordan said Sunday it summoned the Iranian ambassador and urged his country to stop “insulting and questioning” the kingdom's position.

• Türkiye's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and CIA Director William Burns recently spoke on the phone, and discussed the escalation between Iran and Israel, security sources said.

• Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday described his country's attack on Israel as "legitimate defense" and a "natural right."

• The US and UK carried out airstrikes on Yemen's southwestern province of Taiz, the Houthi group said late Sunday.

• Groups protesting against Israel's attacks on Gaza demonstrated outside Burger King outlets in various cities in the Netherlands on Sunday.

• Disagreements arose among members of Israel’s War Cabinet on Sunday over the scale and timing of an attack on Iran following its unprecedented retaliatory strike on the country.

• Palestine urged the International Criminal Court on Sunday to issue arrest warrants against illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank and called for international intervention to compel Israel to halt settlement projects.

• Britain’s health secretary said Sunday that the first flights carrying migrants to Rwanda will take off "within weeks" while not disclosing whether the government had found a carrier.

SPORTS

• Bayer Leverkusen win first-ever German Bundesliga title

Bayer Leverkusen won their first-ever German Bundesliga title on Sunday after a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen.

Xabi Alonso's men hammered the Bremen team at their home BayArena to secure the league title, with five games to spare.

Leverkusen boosted their points to 79 in 29 matches. Their nearest opponents, second-place Bayern Munich, have 63 points.

• Fenerbahce win back-to-back EuroLeague Women titles in basketball

Turkish basketball club Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding defended their FIBA EuroLeague Women crown with a 106-73 win against French opponents Villeneuve d'Ascq LM on Sunday.

US small forward Napheesa Collier scored 33 points for Fenerbahce’s women's team to be the highest scorer of the 2024 final.

Fenerbahce became the first Turkish club to win the EuroLeague Women title twice.