Israel announced plans to step up its military action after Iran’s historic but largely ineffective attacks on Saturday, vowing both “offensive and defensive action” in response.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the plans had been authorized as part of its ongoing conflict with Iran and its proxy, the militant group Hamas.
“Hamas and Iran want to ignite the Middle East and to escalate the region,” he said. “Over the last two hours, we approved the provisional plans for both offensive and defensive action. We will continue to protect the state of Israel, and together with our partners, we will continue to build a more secure and stable future for the entire Middle East.”
The announcement came after a cabinet meeting was convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to plan for retaliation, while the rest of the world anxiously waited to see if the conflict would escalate into all-out war.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Saturday in response to a deadly strike on its embassy in Syria two weeks ago, which Israel never took responsibility for but is believed by the U.S. to be behind.
The vast majority of Iran’s artillery was intercepted by Israeli defense systems and its allies’ forces. One person was critically injured in the attack, a 7-year-old child from an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev.
Israel’s response was expected after the attacks, and President Joe Biden has publicly expressed the U.S.’s “ironclad commitment” to defending Israel. Yet Biden reportedly told Netanyahu in a call that the U.S. wouldn’t support retaliatory strikes against Iran, against the wishes of some of Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet members.
