Israel will respond to Iran’s unprecedented aerial assault on the Jewish state, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi said on Monday.
Halevi spoke during a visit to the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel which sustained minor damage from a ballistic missile strike.
“We are looking ahead,” Halevi said. “We are considering our steps, and this launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs into the territory of the State of Israel will be met with a response.” (Unmanned aerial vehicles are drones.)
U.S. officials believe that several ballistic missiles launched from Iran hit Israeli military bases, including Nevatim, although the reported damage appeared to be minimal, the Lond-based Telegraph reported.
“Last Monday, we saw what was being organized, and we think that the State of Israel is very strong and knows how to deal with it alone,” Halevi told troops at the airbase. “But with a threat so numerous and so far away, we are always happy that there are those who are with us.”
“Iran wanted to harm the strategic capabilities of the State of Israel,” the Israeli military chief added. “That is something that had not happened before. We were prepared for the ‘Iron Shield’ operation; preparation that brought Iran to also meet air superiority.”
הרמטכ״ל, רב-אלוף הרצי הלוי, ביקר היום בבסיס נבטים עם מפקד הבסיס, תת-אלוף יותם סיגלר.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 15, 2024
במהלך הביקור, סייר הרמטכ״ל בטייסת האדיר 140 וקיים שיח עם צוותי האוויר והמפקדים בטייסת, שלקחו חלק בסיכול ויירוט המתקפה האיראנית נגד ישראל במסגרת מבצע ״מגן ברזל״>> pic.twitter.com/FFgc6zUK5b
The Islamic Republic and its proxies launched hundreds of missiles, rockets and drones towards Israel on Saturday night, with the IDF and its allies, including the United States, shooting most of them down.
The Israeli Air Force might launch a retaliatory attack very soon, three U.S. and Western officials told The Wall Street Journal on Monday, as Jerusalem’s War Cabinet wrapped up discussions on “painful” responses to the Islamic Republic’s assault.
The War Cabinet reportedly discussed several possible responses, each designed to inflict pain on the Iranian regime while avoiding the expansion of a regional war. The body also decided to explore options that the Biden administration would not block.
