Israeli defense officials assess that an Iranian counterattack will come in a matter of days.
Iran and its proxies have threatened to avenge last week’s assassinations. Israel took responsibility for the targeted killing of Fuad Shukr of the Lebanese-based Hezbollah in Beirut a week ago. It did not acknowledge playing a role in the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last Wednesday, but it is widely believed to be behind the operation.
The threats by Iran have put Israel on high alert, although Israeli officials have repeatedly said that the country is prepared for a multifront attack. An attack of that sort could lead to a wide-scale regional war, one much larger than the mostly localized Israel-Hamas conflict that has been raging for ten months.
As tensions rise, some in Israel have called for a preemptive strike on Iran and its proxies. According to Israeli media reports, the country’s leadership would consider such a strike if it had solid evidence that Iran was planning a significant attack.
A poll conducted by the 103FM radio station published Tuesday showed that half of the Israeli public favors such a strike. READ MORE