"We do not want war, but we are preparing for all possibilities," said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday, the first senior government official to speak out after the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, in a attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The Defense Minister went to visit a battery of the 'Arrow' long-range anti-missile defense system after also the Israeli attack yesterday against Beirut, in a selective bombing that eliminated the commander in chief of the military wing of the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr .
The Israeli attack on Beirut and the death of Haniyeh, which Hamas also attributes to Israel, have raised alarm bells in the region regarding the possible responses of both Iran and Islamic terrorist organizations against the Jewish State.
Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad Din al Qasam Brigades, said in a statement that Haniyeh's death constituted "a dangerous act that takes the battle to a new level and will have important consequences throughout the region."
Also from Iran, its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, said that Israel "has prepared the ground for harsh punishment," and vindicated the nation's duty to "avenge the murder in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
At the moment the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has not commented on the matter, although it is expected that the Israeli Security Cabinet - which includes military personnel and key ministers during the course of the war - will meet this afternoon in Tel Aviv.
"Tonight we have shown that the blood of our people has a price," Gallant wrote on the social network X after the bombing in Beirut, "and there is no place beyond the reach of our forces for this purpose."
The Israeli authorities have not raised the military alert level despite calls from different groups to respond forcefully to the attacks in recent hours.
As in the game of bad cop and good cop, Haniyeh appeared as the political face of the group, allegedly open at times to negotiation and gaining international legitimacy, in the face of the supposedly more extremist leadership, embodied by Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the terrorist attacks. October 7. Both united, obviously, by a single objective: destroying the State of Israel.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article
The war is already underway; The only thing missing is to make it official. It's sad how the north of Israel suffers from this as well as the central-southern area.
There are several fronts of combat.
I think it is time for the State to call on all of us who are abroad as Israelis, to enlist, regardless of age [there are many tasks to perform across the broad spectrum of the IDF]
Israel should call all Israelis abroad to join the IDF for the coming conflict. At least from 18 to 55 years old.
What a thing, Mr. Khamenei, "no wonder my BIG nose smelled the smell of insecticide"…..(I will fly in my magical mantle).