IDF on ‘high alert’ as Biden vows US to defend Israel against ‘all threats from Iran’
Israelis told to ‘be vigilant’; Biden and PM in phone call discuss ‘new defensive US military deployments’; Hezbollah fires rockets at north for first time since commander killed
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday said it was on “high alert” as the country braces for a response to the assassinations this week of Hezbollah’s military chief in Beirut and Hamas’s leader in Tehran, but its spokesman pledged that the military knows how to handle any threat.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, spoke with US President Joe Biden, who the White House said stressed America’s commitment to defending Israel’s security “against all threats from Iran.” The two discussed new US military deployments to protect against possible attacks from ballistic missiles and drones.
The allied leaders’ phone call came as Israeli television reported that Israel was working to finalize the coordination of a regional and international coalition to thwart a potential response by Iran and Hezbollah to the killings of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, as was the case when Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel on April 13-14.
Iranian and Hamas leaders vowed to take revenge against Israel for Haniyeh’s killing during a funeral procession for him in Tehran on Thursday morning. Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said later in the day that the war against Israel had entered a “new phase” and Israel should expect “rage and revenge.”
While the IDF has claimed responsibility for killing Shukr, Israel has not officially commented on the assassination of Haniyeh, which Hamas, Iran and their allies have blamed on it.
“We struck on Tuesday night in Lebanon and killed Fuad Shukr in an accurate aerial strike,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday evening when asked about Haniyeh. “I want to emphasize, there was no other aerial strike, not a missile and not an Israeli drone, in the entire Middle East that night, and I won’t comment further.”
Earlier, The New York Times reported that the explosion that killed Haniyeh and his bodyguard early Wednesday morning was set off by a sophisticated, remote-controlled bomb smuggled about two months ago into the Hamas leader’s room at the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying.
“Since the beginning of the war. we have faced various threats from far and near,” Hagari said, referring to the ongoing conflict sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. “We have proven recently that the State of Israel knows how to deal with threats in defense, and to respond with a mighty attack.”
He said the IDF was holding continuous assessments on the situation, but for now, there was no change to Home Front Command guidelines for civilians. “We have our finger on the pulse all the time.”
“We have very good defense systems, and we have international allies that bolstered their forces in the area to aid us against these threats,” Hagari said.
He emphasized, however, that Israel’s defenses are “not hermetic.”
“Be vigilant and continue to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command,” he told the Israeli public, adding that if there are any changes, the military will update immediately.
Hagari said that “the IDF is on high alert, both in defense and in attack. IDF troops are deployed in the air, at sea, and on the ground, and are ready for any scenario, and especially with plans to carry out attacks in the immediate time-frame.”
In addition to increased aerial patrols, dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets were waiting on tarmacs, ready to launch an attack or defend against one, a Channel 12 TV report said.
The IDF has also been monitoring and limiting the transportation of hazardous materials to several factories in northern Israel as a precautionary measure. According to a military source, the Home Front Command has not ordered any of the relevant factories to halt their operations.
Ynet news reported Wednesday that the Strauss ice cream factory in Acre was forced to halt operations because it was told to clear out the ammonia gas it normally uses, which may be harmful to the public in the event of a rocket attack.
“The Home Front Command maintains continuous contact with all factories… including daily audits and ongoing situation assessments in conjunction with local authorities and the Environmental Protection Ministry. This is to maintain readiness and a comprehensive picture of the amount of hazardous materials,” the IDF said in a response to a query.
Israel said to warn shackles will come off if civilians harmed
After a lull of over 48 hours, Hezbollah attacked Israel for the first time since Shukr’s killing, claiming responsibility for rocket fire at the Western Galilee on Thursday night.
In a statement, Hezbollah claimed to have launched dozens of rockets at the northern border community of Metzuba in response to an Israeli strike in the Lebanese village of Chamaa earlier in the day, which reportedly killed four Syrians and wounded several Lebanese civilians.
The IDF later said it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Yater that was used to fire the barrage.
According to the IDF, several rockets launched in the attack were intercepted by air defenses, while others impacted open areas. There were no injuries.
בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו בשעה 21:44 במרחב הגליל המערבי, זוהו מספר שיגורים שחצו מלבנון, חלקם יורטו והשאר נפלו בשטחים פתוחים, אין נפגעים.
בסגירת מעגל מהירה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את המשגר של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ממנו זוהו השיגורים ממרחב יאטר שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/kXF0r8j2dz
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 1, 2024
Earlier, an unsourced Channel 12 report said Israel has conveyed a message via Arab and other regional third parties to Hezbollah that, whereas the Lebanese terror group killed 12 children in Majdal Shams on Saturday night, Israel responded by hitting a military target, Shukr. If Hezbollah responds, the Israeli message was quoted as saying, it will be a case of “army against army. But if you start to hit civilian targets, this will be a broad war against Hezbollah, and Israel will see itself as unconstrained.”
What this means, the TV report suggested, was not that Israel would target civilians, but that it could target Lebanese infrastructure, including in Beirut. The goal of the message, the report said, was to constrain Hezbollah.
Channel 12 also cited an unnamed senior Israeli source who said the current high state of military preparation for a potential attack could last for several days. While Hezbollah’s Nasrallah “could attempt to respond quickly,” the source said, it could take the Iranians longer to decide “how and when they want to respond.”
The report also said that Biden, in his call with Netanyahu, was expected to press Netanyahu to utilize Israel’s latest achievements and show flexibility in efforts to conclude a ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas in Gaza. However, Netanyahu, the report said, is convinced that only military pressure has yielded Hamas flexibility to date, and that now is not the time to take the foot off the gas.
“The president reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” said the White House statement on the call.
“The president discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments,” it continued, without elaborating on these measures.
“Together with this commitment to Israel’s defense, the president stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region.”
There was no immediate readout from the Prime Minister’s Office on the call, which the White House said Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also joined.
Citing American officials, the Axios news site reported the US believes it will take Iran and its proxies several days to ready an attack and was taking steps to be ready to help counter the assault as it did in October.
“We expect a few rough days,” one of the officials said.
According to the report, the Biden administration is worried it may now face greater difficulty in cobbling together a regional and international coalition to assist in thwarting the attack, as the killing of Haniyeh relates to the ongoing war in Gaza started by Hamas’s 7 massacres, for which Israel has faced intensive criticism.
The Iranian strike in April followed an Israeli strike that killed the commander and deputy head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a US-designated terrorist organization, inside Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
