Israel was preparing this Thursday for the possibility of a retaliatory attack after the alleged killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week, and the country's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Israel will respond to “anyone who harms us or plans to hurt us.”
The prime minister's comments come after the Israeli Armed Forces — pressured by nearly six months of war in the Gaza Strip and on the Lebanese front — announced that it will suspend licenses for all combat units, a day after saying it was mobilizing more troops for air defense units.
The possibility that Iran would retaliate for Monday's presumably Israeli bombing of the country's embassy complex in Damascus has fueled fears of a wider war, although two Iranian sources said Tehran's response would be balanced to avoid the escalation of the conflict.
“For years, Iran has acted against Israel directly or through its auxiliary lines. Therefore, Israel is acting against Iran and its auxiliary lines, defensively and offensively”, said Netanyahu at the beginning of a ministerial meeting this Thursday.
“We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle that we will hurt anyone who hurts us or plans to hurt us,” he added.
The White House stated that US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu and that they discussed the threats from Iran. According to Washington, Biden made it clear that the US strongly supports Israel in relation to this threat.
Reuters journalists and Tel Aviv residents said GPS services had been disrupted, in an apparent move to deflect guided missiles.
Iran has vowed revenge for the deaths of two generals and five military advisers in a bombing of the Iranian diplomatic complex in the Syrian capital on Monday.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attack. Yemen's Houthi rebels, allies of Tehran, have launched occasional long-range rocket attacks on the Israeli port of Eilat.
Iran has so far avoided becoming directly involved in the fighting, despite supporting attacks on Israeli and American targets.
Many diplomats and analysts say Iran's religious elite do not want an open war against Israel or the United States, and prefer to continue using allies to carry out selective and tactical attacks against their enemies.
Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli intelligence, said that Iran could choose Friday, the last of the month of Ramadan and Al Quds Day, to respond to the attack in Damascus, directly or through an ally.
“We will not be surprised if Iran acts tomorrow. Don't panic. Don’t run to the shelters,” he said, citing Israel Defense systems. “Stay alert tomorrow and, depending on the consequences, the conflict may escalate.”
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, James Mackenzie and Steven Scheer in Jerusalem, Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Arshad Mohammad, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Don Durfee in Washington)
Source: CNN Brasil
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