Report: War cabinet decides to hit Iran back hard, hopes it won’t spark regional war

Report: War cabinet decides to hit Iran back hard, hopes it won’t spark regional war

Jacob Magid

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday

TV report: War cabinet decides to hit back forcefully at Iran for Saturday’s missile and drone attack

In an unsourced report, Channel 12 claims the war cabinet has made the decision to hit back “clearly and forcefully” against Iran for its missile and drone attack on Saturday night.

The response will be designed to send the message that Israel “will not allow an attack of that magnitude against it to pass without a reaction,” the report says. 

The response will also be designed to make plain that Israel will not allow the Iranians to “establish the equation” they have sought to assert in recent days. This appears to be a reference to Iran’s warning that future Israeli strikes on Iranian territory, including its international diplomatic premises, will henceforth again be met by Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel.

The report says Israel does not want its response to spark a regional war, or to shatter the coalition that helped it defend against Iran’s attack. It further says that Israel intends to coordinate its action with the US.

The war cabinet is scheduled to meet again tomorrow, the report notes, and Home Front command regulations have not been changed, indicating that an Israeli attack is unlikely to take place today.

Liberman: US knows we need to hit back at Iran; we must seek ‘maximal coordination’

Opposition Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman says that the US recognizes Israel has no alternative but to hit back at Iran for its Saturday attack, and that Israel must seek “maximal coordination” with the US in doing so.

Liberman tells Channel 12 Israel was only able to repel the Iranian missile and drone attack with the help of the Americans — including US interceptions, and crucially, US intel and early warning capabilities.

He says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited him for a security briefing, but that the timing has not yet been finalized. He says he will of course attend, given that this is “a time of war.”

Israeli jets strike Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon after rocket fire at Israel

Israeli fighter jets struck additional buildings the IDF says are used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The IDF says the Hezbollah sites were hit in the villages of Markaba and Majdal Zoun.

Troops also shelled areas near Jabal Blat with artillery to “remove a threat,” the army says.

Earlier, five rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Hanita area. The IDF says the projectiles hit open areas, causing no injuries, and that troops are shelling the launch sites.