Israeli defence minister warns attack on Iran would be ‘lethal’

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel’s retaliation to an Iranian missile strike on its territory last week would be “lethal.”

In a speech made to Israeli troops, Gallant said that the strike would catch Iran off guard, although provided no further details on the size of the allegedly planned strike.

“They will not understand what happened and how it happened,” Gallant said.

Iran fired almost 200 missiles into Israel last week after Israel intensified its airstrikes across Lebanon, killing multiple senior commanders of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah — including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The comments confirm that Israel is not planning to slow down its military campaign against Hezbollah, which has seen the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) strike Lebanon’s capital of Beirut and launch what it calls a “limited” ground invasion into southern Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate to Iran’s strike. However, he has not confirmed when or how this would take place in what would be a further escalation of the spiralling conflict in the Middle East.

US President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to avoid a strike on Iran that would hit sites related to Iran’s nuclear programme or its oil sector, fearing a knock-on impact on the global oil market that would push prices up and potentially affect the Democrat’s upcoming election campaign.

The two leaders had their first call in seven weeks on Wednesday, with Vice-President Kamala Harris joining the conversation.

Despite his repeated attempts to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, Biden reiterated his support for Israel, reportedly congratulating Netanyahu on his, “intense and determined operations that Israel carried out against Hezbollah,” according to Netanyahu’s office.

Netanyahu has repeatedly ignored Biden’s calls for cease-fires which include a temporary pause in fighting.

Since the two leaders’ last phone call in late August, Netanyahu has stepped up its attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah.

On Thursday, a video circulated by the news agency Associated Press appears to show a group of soldiers raising an Israeli flag in a village in southern Lebanon, as an IDF strike killed five paramedics, according to a civil defence spokesperson.

The IDF has continued to bombard Gaza as it expands its operations in Lebanon. Strikes on central and northern Gaza killed dozens on Wednesday as the death toll from the yearlong conflict passed 42,000 according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians.

Israel’s military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Israeli forces were continuing to operate in Gaza to prevent Hamas from regrouping.