'They will not understand what happened': Israel's Gallant warns attack on Iran will be 'lethal', 'surprising'

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden were having a telephonic conversation over response to Iran’s missile attack, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday warned that his country’s retaliation for the attack will be “lethal” and “surprising.”

גלנט: התגובה שלנו למתקפה האיראנית תהיה קטלנית, מדויקת ובעיקר מפתיעה - הם לא יבינו מה קרה ואיך@Doron_Kadosh
(צילום: אלעד מלכה) pic.twitter.com/FOJwaCJAXP

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) October 9, 2024

After describing Iran’s October 1 missile attack as a failure, Gallant said in a video issued by his office, “Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results.”

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the United States.

Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel on October 1 in an escalation of the conflict between the two countries. Israel has been discussing how to respond to the Iranian attack, which the United States helped fend off. Biden has said he would not support a retaliatory strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, a large-scale Israeli operation in the northern part of the Palestinian territory left dozens of people dead and threatened to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

The continuing cycle of destruction and death in Gaza, unleashed by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, comes as Israel expands a weeklong ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and considers a major retaliatory strike on Iran following Iran’s missile barrage against Israel.

In northern Gaza, there was heavy fighting in Jabaliya, where Israeli forces have carried out several major operations over the course of the war and then returned as militants regroup. The entire north, including Gaza City, has suffered heavy destruction and has been largely isolated by Israeli forces since late last year.

A rocket fired from Lebanon killed two people in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, and another six were stabbed and wounded in the city of Hadera Wednesday. Police said the attacker was “neutralized,” and later clarified he had been arrested.

Hezbollah claimed the strike on Kiryat Shmona, saying it targeted “a gathering of enemy forces.” Ofir Yehezkeli, the town’s acting mayor, said the two killed were a couple walking their dogs.

Residents of Jabaliya, an urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, said thousands of people have been trapped in their homes since the operation began Sunday, as Israeli jets and drones buzz overhead and troops battle militants in the streets.

“It’s like hell. We can’t get out,” said Mohamed Awda, who lives with his parents and six siblings. He said there were three bodies in the street outside his home that could not be retrieved because of the fighting.

“The quadcopters are everywhere, and they fire at anyone. You can’t even open the window,” he told The Associated Press by phone, speaking over the sound of explosions.

With inputs from agencies