The Israel Defense Forces is ready to carry out an offensive operation against Iran and its terrorist proxies throughout the region, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday, as the Jewish state awaits an attack promised and directed by Tehran.
“We must be prepared for anything—including a swift transition to offense,” Gallant told IDF troops following a security assessment with senior officials at an undisclosed Israeli Air Force command center.
“Our enemies are carefully considering their every move because of the capabilities you have demonstrated over the past year,” the minister said.
According to a Defense Ministry readout, Gallant was briefed on air defense readiness ahead of the anticipated Iranian attack, as well as “potential offensive capabilities that may be employed in each arena.”
During a separate meeting with community leaders in Israel’s north on Sunday, IDF Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin likewise stressed that the army is ready to turn the tables on Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.
“I want you to know that our offensive plans going forward are ready and we are prepared for this, in all aspects, from me to every single one of the soldiers,” Gordin told the northern mayors, according to an IDF readout.
“We’ve attacked and destroyed a lot [of terrorist targets] in the last 10 months, but we still have work to do. We are determined and committed,” the general said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct attack on the Jewish state following the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, The New York Times reported.
Jerusalem has also been awaiting the response of Iran’s terrorist proxies since it killed Hezbollah’s Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30. Shukr was responsible for a recent rocket attack that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, as well as a 1983 bombing that killed 241 U.S. troops in Beirut.
Iran and Hezbollah could attack the Jewish state as early as Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.
Israel’s defense establishment is reportedly considering the possibility of “preventive actions or attacks” it could initiate to thwart Iran, “in Lebanon or perhaps in other places where necessary.”
Asked by reporters on Sunday night why the military was not launching a pre-emptive strike, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: “We have wide-ranging plans, we have a high readiness to act. Any order we get from the political echelon, we will carry out immediately.”
On Thursday, the chief military spokesperson told citizens that “IDF forces are deployed in the air, sea and land and are prepared for any scenario, and especially for attack plans in the immediate time frame.”
Hagari noted that the IDF has repeatedly proven able to defend itself against military threats and to “respond strongly on the offensive.”