Israel-Gaza updates: 22, including 18 children, reported dead in Rafah strikes

Pope Francis expressed concern Sunday over escalating violence in the Middle East and prayed the situation doesn't lead to an "even greater war conflict."

During his noontime prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, the pope said, "I am following in prayer and concern, even sorrow, the news that has come in the recent hours of the worsening of the situation because of intervention by Iran."

"I make a heartfelt appeal for a halt to any action that could feed a spiral of violence with the risk of dragging the Middle East into an even greater conflict," Pope Francis said.

-ABC News' Phoebe Natanson

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi claimed Sunday that Iran had taught Israel a lesson and warned of a "heavier" response to "any new adventures against the interests of the Iranian nation."

Iran said Israel was targeted in retaliation for its strike earlier this month on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed a top Iranian military leader.

"Following the instructions of Imam Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and with the support of the proud nation and the powerful armed forces of Islamic Iran, I emphasize that any new adventure against the interests of the Iranian nation will be responded with a heavier and regrettable response from the Islamic Republic of Iran," Raisi said.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres

A 7-year-old girl injured in Iran's attack on Israel is reportedly the only casualty of the airstrikes, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.

The girl was "severely injured by shrapnel," apparently from an intercepted missile, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

"We wish her a speedy recovery," Hagari said. "Other than her, as far as we know, there are no additional casualties."

Iran launched 300 "threats of various types" at Israel on Saturday, Hagari said, including 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more than 120 ballistic missiles and over 30 cruise missiles.

Hagari said 99% of the threats launched by Iran at Israel were intercepted by Israel's Aerial Defense Array and Israeli Air Force fighter jets, as well as "the aerial defense systems and aircraft of our partners." The "few" ballistic missiles that weren't intercepted fell at Nevatim Air Force Base, causing only minor damage, Hagari said, adding that the base remains operational.

(Editor’s note: Earlier, the IDF said the child was 10, but the hospital updated the information to confirm she is 7.)

-ABC News' Dana Savir

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC's "Good Morning America" Sunday that any response to Iran's Saturday night attack is up to Israeli forces.

But Kirby stressed that President Joe Biden does not want the situation to escalate or have the U.S. drawn further into any conflict.

When asked by ABC News' Whit Johnson about a response from Israel, Kirby said that it is up to the Israeli government to decide how to respond. He added that "the damage was extremely light," and the defenses in place proved Israel can defend itself.

"I won't speak for the Israelis. It's going to be up to them to decide whether and how they'll respond to this," Kirby said. "They showed last night, an incredible military capability on their own, but certainly in concert with friends."

When pressed about reports that Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. would oppose a counterattack on Iran, Kirby said it was "not an accurate reading" of the president's message. He emphasized that the White House does not "want to see the situation escalate further."

"The president understands the prime minister runs a government for a sovereign state of Israel, and that they'll decide whether and how they're going to respond to what Iran did last night," Kirby said.

Kirby reiterated the White House's message that the president will do "whatever he has to protect our troops and our facilities, our people in the region." He said there is no current threat to U.S. service members and facilities, noting that more U.S. forces moved into the region after Oct. 7 to help defend Israel and shipping channels in the Red Sea.

"We're going to obviously be vigilant to any potential threat to our forces in the region," Kirby said. "But the president has been clear we are not looking for a wider war. We're not looking for a second front or a third front. We're not looking to see escalation and we're certainly not looking for a war with Iran."

Kirby added that good intelligence about the attack helped the U.S. and Israel prepare.

"We've been watching as closely as we could the intelligence picture, we had a pretty good indication of the size and the scale and the scope of what Iran was planning," Kirby said. "That is why, because we had a good sense of what they were going to do and with how much, we were able to really help Israel knock down almost everything that Iran threw at them."