Israel must go “berserk” on Iran, a hardliner has told the government as it prepares its response to Saturday’s drone and missile barrage.

Israel called a cabinet meeting late afternoon on Sunday to discuss a possible response but it failed to come to an agreement. The cabinet will meet again on Monday afternoon. The country’s hard-Right politicians insist that Israel should not waste time with its retaliation.

“Ideas of containment and moderation are the perceptions that ended on October 7,” Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister and leader of the most popular Right-wing party, said in a statement late on Sunday.

“To create a deterrent in the Middle East, Israel has got to show that it is prepared to go berserk.”

As their efforts to push through an immediate response apparently failed, Mr Ben-Gvir’s close ally, Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, said that he and supporters will “use their full influence” to make sure Israel retaliates.

Israel’s hard-Right weighed in after Benny Gantz and Yoav Gallat, some of the most influential ministers with close ties to the US administration, made it clear on Sunday that they intend to listen to Washington and refrain from rash decisions that could lead to escalation.

Uncharacteristically, Benjamin Netanyahu himself has not made any remarks regarding a possible response or any public statement at all, except for a short tweet on Sunday, lauding the work of the air defence. The cabinet’s secretary, on Sunday night, relayed the prime minister’s request not to give interviews or speak about the Iranian crisis.

Israel’s success in fighting off the attack was unanimously lauded, with the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth calling Sunday “the first good night (in Israel) after October 7” in reference to the day of the Hamas massacre. Newspapers also underscored the need to retaliate against Iran to demonstrate deterrence, but also urged the government not to squander the opportunity to build on a rare show of unity by Israel’s neighbours like Jordan who came to its defence.

“The conversation about what we are capable of doing is the one that ultimately leads to action. Something has to be done – something that hurts the Iranians, but not too badly,” Yedioth Ahronoth wrote in an editorial on Monday.

“The American veto is sharp and clear: they have no desire to enter into a broad-scale war with Iran at present, and they have good reason to suspect that the Israeli government wants to draw them into one.”

There is growing international pressure on Iran not to respond. David Cameron, on Monday, called on Israel to refrain from action that could spark a wider regional crisis as he said he understood the Israelis’ anxiety to retaliate but added he had been telling the Israeli government they “shouldn’t escalate”. Germany’s foreign minister lauded Israel’s defensive “victory”, urging for diplomatic means to defuse the tensions.