 "Benjamin Netanyahu. File Photo")
As Israel braces for the Iranian attack that may come anytime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of pre-emptive strikes.
Netanyahu’s warning comes a day after Iranian army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi promised the destruction of Israel and said there is no way Israel can prevent its annihilation.
Pre-emptive strikes refer to attacking the enemy while it is still planning to attack you in order to neutralise its capacity to carry out an attack. Netanyahu warned that Israel is prepared for pre-emptive actions against Iran and Hezbollah — both of whom have vowed to attack Israel.
Last week, Israel assassinated Lebanon-based Hezbollah’s military chief Faud Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut. Hours later, Iran and Hamas said that former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had been assassinated in Tehran. They blamed Israel for the assassination. Following the two assassinations, Iran and Hezbollah vowed to extract revenge . For the past week, the United States and Israel have assessed that the attack on Israel is imminent.
There are fears that the widely-expected Iranian-Hezbollah’s attack and subsequent Israeli response may plunge the Middle East into an escalatory cycle that may lead to an all-out war that may envelop the entire region. Even as Western and Arab leaders have been pressing Iran and Israel to not escalate the conflict such that it leads to a full-scale war, Iran no longer appears to care. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Iran has conveyed to Arab leaders that it no longer cares if its attack on Israel leads to a full-scale war in the Middle East .
‘We are prepared for defence & offense’
As Israel braces for an attack from Iran and Hezbollah, Netanyahu has said that the Jewish state is ready for defensive as well offensive operations.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“We are prepared both defensively and offensively,” said Netanyahu, as per The Jerusalem Post.
Netanyahu further said that even as Israel prepares to defend against the Iranian attack, it’s attacking its enemies.
“I know that the citizens of Israel are concerned, and I ask one thing of you: Be patient and level-headed. We are striking our enemies and are determined to defend ourselves,” said Netanyahu.
Hezbollah may attack Israel before Iran: Report
As Israel and its partners, primarily the United States, brace for an attack from Iran, a report has said that Iran and Hezbollah may launch separate attacks .
The New York Times has cited Israeli and Western officials as saying that the assessment is that Hezbollah and Iran may attack Iran separately and Hezbollah may be the first to launch the attack.
Previously, it has been reported that Iran may involve its supported groups like Hezbollah and Houthis in the attack. Iran is widely believe to attack Israel like it did in April when it launched hundreds of missiles, drones, and rockets at Israel in response to the assassination of top Iranian commanders in an airstrike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in the Syrian capital Damascus. The only difference is that the attack is expected to much bigger in scope this time and it would be much harder to deescalate.
Israeli outlet Ynet has reported that Israel has assessed that the attack may take place such that it opens war on as many as five fronts.
The United States is looking forward to reviving the Western and Arab coalition that help Israel defend itself in April . The US and Israeli militaries were joined by British, French, Jordanian, and Saudi militaries in taking down Iranian drones, missiles, and rockets in April. However, the revival of the coalition is proving to be much more difficult this time as anti-Israel sentiment has soared in the region following Haniyeh’s assassination.