UN ponders how to calm conflict as Israel battles militants on 2 fronts

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict in the Middle East.

Iran's ambassador to the UN said his country launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday as a deterrent to further Israeli violence, while his Israeli counterpart called the barrage an "unprecedented act of aggression".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late on Tuesday to retaliate, and an Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel did so. US President Biden said Wednesday that he would not support an Israeli attack targeting Iran's nuclear programme.

Israel further ruffled feathers on Wednesday when its foreign minister declared the UN secretary-general "persona non-grata" in the country, doubling down on decades of accusations of antisemitism against the organisation.

Israel was meanwhile battling militants on two fronts, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah and conducting strikes in Gaz