Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli War Cabinet, vowed on Sunday to exact a price from Iran in response to its overnight missile and drone attacks on the Jewish state.
“In the face of the Iranian threat, we will build a regional coalition, and we will exact a price from Iran in the way and at the time that is right for us,” Gantz said in a video statement.
“Iran is a global problem, a regional challenge, and a danger to Israel as well. And yesterday, the world stood clearly together with Israel against the threat,” the former defense minister said.
“This is a strategic achievement, which we must leverage for Israel’s security,” Gantz stated, warning that “this [security] event isn’t over.
The United States, United Kingdom and Jordan downed many of the over 300 projectiles launched towards Israel, while France also played a role in defending the Jewish state against the unprecedented attack.
“The strategic pact and the regional cooperation, which we built and which have stood a substantial test, must be strengthened now,” Gantz continued. “And most important, in the face of our enemies’ desire to hurt us, we will unite and get stronger.”
Gantz and National Unity Party colleague Gadi Eizenkot, both former IDF chiefs of staff, joined the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the opposition and became members of the War Cabinet following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of some 1,200 people in southern Israel.