ISRAEL’S government has refused to say they will show “restraint” or look to de-escalate tensions after Iran launched an unprecedented strike on their country.

In response to an attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria which killed two Iranian generals on April 1 and has widely been pinned on Israel, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles launched towards its territory.

Israel, with the support from allies including the US and UK, said it had thwarted 99% of the launches and no fatalities were reported.

There have been fears that an Israeli retaliation could escalate tensions in the region, leading to open war.

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US president Joe Biden said he would convene a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies on Sunday “to co-ordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack”, indicating that the US does not want Iran’s assault to spiral into a broader military conflict.

Appearing on the BBC on Sunday, Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman (below) declined to say that Israel would heed the American calls and show "restraint" in its response.

Hyman said: “We didn't start this war. We didn't want this war. This is Iranian aggression. Iranian aggression that we have seen for decades, Iran funding their proxies to attack us. And now again, they have taken off the mask.

“There was a time in recent history in living memory where Jews could not defend ourselves, where we were defenceless. That is no longer the situation.

The National:

“And again, we are able and willing to defend ourselves to act defensively and offensively and we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies at this difficult time.

“The thing should be pointed to Tehran who started this war, who turned up the volume last night.”

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied whether it was responsible for the attack on the Iranian consular building in Syria.

Asked by the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg if they would now do so, Hyman responded: “I'm not going to speak directly to that strike.

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“What I can tell you definitively, definitively is that that attack occurred in a place that was not an embassy, that was not a consulate, that was not any kind of diplomatic mission, it was an Al Quds Force military position.

“The people there were active members of the Iranian Al Quds Force and they were there, I'm sure, seeking harm on Israel. We will continue to do what we need to do to defend our nation.”

Sunday’s assault, which set off air raid sirens across Israel, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel has over the years established – often with the help of the United States – a multilayered air defence network that includes systems capable of intercepting a variety of threats including long-range missiles, cruise missiles, drones and short-range rockets.

That system, along with collaboration with US and other forces, helped thwart what could have been a far more devastating assault at a time when Israel is already bogged down in its war against Hamas in Gaza and engaged in low-level fighting on its northern border with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a direct warning to the US: “The terrorist US government is warned any support or participation in harming Iran’s interests will be followed by decisive and regretting response by Iran’s armed forces.”