Srinagar- The Israeli military is in the midst of planning a response to Iran’s Tuesday night unprecedented ballistic missile attack on Tel Aviv, and warned on Saturday that it would be “serious and significant.”
Israel has said that Iran’s attack of some 200 ballistic missiles on the country would “have consequences.”
At a security cabinet meeting in a secure bunker near Jerusalem in the aftermath of the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran had made a “big mistake tonight” and vowed that “it will pay for it.”
The Iranian attack caused significant material damage in Israel, including in airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit.
The military on Saturday said that the response to the Iranian missile attack would be “serious and significant,” and that it was devoting much of its time to planning it, according to The Times of Israel.
On Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that Israel would respond to the missile attack, vowing that the military could “reach and strike any point in the Middle East.”
The comments on Saturday from the military come as the US has sought to dissuade Israel from hitting Iranian nuclear or oil infrastructure as part of the response.
US President Joe Biden on Friday said Israel has not yet decided how it’s going to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile assault, but suggested it should refrain from attacking Iranian oil facilities.
“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden said during a rare appearance at the White House daily press briefing.
Biden’s latest remarks came a day after he said the idea of an Israeli strike on Iranian oil sites was “in discussion,” causing oil prices to shoot up amid fears of a sudden shock to the global supply.
The Washington Post reported Friday that dozens of Iranian missiles managed to break through air defenses and hit or land near at least three military and intelligence sites inside Israel.
The Post said it verified videos that showed 20 missiles striking the Nevatim air base in southern Israel and three striking the Tel Nof base in central Israel. Other videos showed that at least two missiles landed near Israel’s Mossad spy agency headquarters in Glilot.
Iran warns Israel against attack
On Wednesday, President Masoud Pezeshkian warned the Israeli regime against responding to Iran’s retaliatory strike, stating that any response would be met with even greater force from the Islamic Republic.
Dr Pezeshkian revealed that Iran was asked to delay its response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh to allow for negotiations regarding a ceasefire.
He pointed out that the assassination occurred while Pezeshkian was taking his presidential oath, adding a particularly appalling element to the killing.
“We are not looking for war at all,” he said. “We seek peace,” but he underscored that regional security is deeply intertwined with the security of Muslims.
He further stated that the Israeli regime’s provocations had forced Iran to react, noting that destabilizing the region’s security serves neither European nor US interests.
Israel Pummels Lebanon
Meanwhile, the Israeli military continued to launch attacks across Lebanon.
Airstrikes hit areas of central, northern and southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had struck “weapons storage facilities, command centers and additional terrorist infrastructure” near the capital, Beirut. That appeared to refer to the Dahiya, an area where Hezbollah holds sway and where clouds of smoke were seen rising on Saturday.
A huge Israeli strike around the same area earlier in the week targeted Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor of Hassan Nasrallah, the recently assassinated leader of Hezbollah.
Israel’s systematic targeting of Hezbollah leaders and their allies appeared to reach deep into Lebanon on Saturday. The armed group Hamas, which is based in Gaza, said that one of its commanders had been killed in an Israeli strike in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, near the country’s northern edge. Hours later, Israel said it had also killed a second high-ranking Hamas commander in Lebanon.
As Israel kept up its campaign, Hezbollah on Saturday fired what Israel’s military said was an estimated 90 rockets into northern Israel. Most appear to have been intercepted by air defense systems, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Concern has been building over whether the broadening war would further draw in Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah and launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel earlier in the week. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, said on Friday that Iran could carry out additional attacks on Israel “if necessary.”
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