Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a stark warning to Iran by promising to strengthen Israel’s “defense and attack” capabilities, telling troops today that “whoever harms us, we harm him.”
Israel’s Prime Minister said that, in addition to his country being in the midst of the war in Gaza, which he said “continues in full force,” it is “also preparing for challenging scenarios in other areas.”
Israel has been preparing for possible Iranian retaliation for the killing of a senior general and six other Iranian officials in an airstrike on an annex building of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1.
Although he has not claimed responsibility, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel “must and will be punished” for the attack.
Russia and Germany have now urged Middle Eastern countries to show restraint, amid fears that tit-for-tat retaliatory attacks could escalate into a full-scale conflict.
Israel’s Prime Minister said that, in addition to his country being in the midst of the war in Gaza, “it is also preparing for challenging scenarios in other areas.”
Israeli soldiers prepare their equipment and armored personnel carrier before entering the Gaza Strip on April 10, 2024.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel “must and will be punished” for the attack.
An attack by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel is imminent, Bloomberg News reported citing intelligence sources, and one source said it’s more a question of when, not if, it will happen.
Netanyahu made his comments as Israeli troops and warplanes began an overnight operation in central Gaza that the military said was aimed at destroying Hamas infrastructure.
Conflict has spread across the Middle East since the outbreak of the Gaza war, and Iran has declared its support for groups launching attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
Tehran has avoided direct confrontation with Israel or the United States, while declaring its support for its allies.
In an apparent attempt to reassure Israelis, Netanyahu told the soldiers: ‘We are preparing to meet the security needs of the State of Israel, both in defense and attack. I and the people of Israel trust in you. And may we all have great success.”
While tensions continue to simmer in the region, German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western airlines flying to Tehran, extended the suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to the Middle East.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian to urge “maximum restraint” to avoid further escalation.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry told citizens they should not travel to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
An Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Shahed-136, displayed in Azadi (Freedom) Square in western Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2024.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Wednesday to mark Eid al-Fitr that attacking an embassy “means that they have attacked our soil.”
Iranian soldiers attend the funeral procession for seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in an attack in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024.
“At this moment it is very important that everyone maintains restraint so as not to lead to a complete destabilization of the situation in the region, which does not exactly shine for its stability and predictability,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference. press.
Tehran has repeatedly warned it will retaliate for the attack in Syria, and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a speech on Wednesday that attacking an embassy “means they have attacked our soil.”
“The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and will be punished,” he added, according to IRNA, the state news agency.
Iran’s main proxy group is Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon and has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces almost daily since war broke out in Gaza in October.
There are fears that an open war between Israel and Iran could turn into a much broader conflict, and Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated in X: “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack in Iran.”
It comes after President Joe Biden pledged that US support for Israel is “strong” amid concerns that the country could be the target of major missile or drone attacks by Iran.
‘As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. Let me say it again: battleship. “We are going to do everything we can to protect Israel’s security,” Biden said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Most Israeli troops have been withdrawn from Gaza, in preparation for an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, against which the United States has urged caution.
More than a million Palestinians are taking refuge in the city, about half of the enclave’s population, but fighting has continued in several areas of the enclave.
Israeli soldiers prepare their equipment and armored personnel carriers before entering the Gaza Strip on April 10, 2024.
“Our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” President Biden said.
“It was as if the occupation army was launching a new war,” Raouf Abed, 20, said via a chat app from Deir Al-Balah, south of the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
“The explosions were continuous, the sounds came from different directions,” he said.
“Every time we wait for a ceasefire, Israel intensifies the aggression, as if they are trying to pressure Hamas by attacking us civilians,” he said.