Yesterday evening, less than a day after the IDF began ground operations in southern Lebanon and exactly 4 days after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Iran carried out a massive response with the launching of 190 ballistic missiles at Israel, to military bases in the Tel Aviv area, Ashkelon and Beer Sheva. In contrast to the drone strike carried out in April, for which Israel had a few hours to organize a defensive and supportive coalition, the missiles reached Israeli territory in about 10 minutes.
Despite the high speed of the Iranian operation, it was no surprise for Israel – when concrete reports of an Iranian response came out over several hours prior. At the start of the attack, the Home Front Command activated its special warning app, which led most of the country’s residents into protected areas. At the same time, the Air Force and the interception systems began to act against the missiles and blow many of them up in the air. Much shrapnel fell all over the country, but due to the command’s instructions, the result was only 2 wounded persons – along with a Palestinian resident of Gaza, who was killed in Jericho.
Almost parallel to the missile attack, 2 other serious security incidents occurred, which raise suspicion of Iranian coordination: On the light rail in Jaffa, 2 Palestinians who had infiltrated from Hebron began firing indiscriminately at civilians, killing 7 people (the names have not yet been published) before they were killed by armed civilians and inspectors, the most serious attack seen in Gush Dan in 20 years. At the same time, in the Gaza Strip, a group of dozens of terrorists from the centeral camps began preparing to attack IDF forces in the Netzarim corridor. The attempt was thwarted by many airstrikes, but the alert of the maneuvering forces in the Gaza Strip remains high.
Now the ball is in Israel’s hands, which is committed to responding to Iran on this unprecedented attack. The nature of the Israeli attack, its strength, and its objective (military, civilian, economic or nuclear) will determin where this conflict will progress – whether to further calm Iran for a few months, or whether to a full confrontation and a state of war between Israel and the greatest of its enemies. The United States has declared its backing for Israel, and now the decision remains in the hands of our leaders – whether our hands are full of fronts, or whether it is time to strike the head of the snake.
