The announcement came after the War Cabinet meeting ended on Monday evening.
– This shelling with so many missiles, cruise robots and UAVs into the territory of the State of Israel will be met with a response, said army chief Herzi Halevi in a statement according to AFP.
The goal is to hurt Iran, but not to further escalate the situation and cause a major war. Halevi says Israel is still considering “what steps to take” and it remains unclear what the response will look like.
Want with USA
According to Sky News Israel also wants the US to counterattack. The US has stated that it will not be involved in any operation against Iran together with Israel.
Two Israeli sources say CNN that the opposition leader Benny Gantz wants to see a quick retaliatory attack against Iran – and justifies it by saying that it will be more difficult to gather international support for a retaliatory attack the longer time goes by. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be more restrained.
“Escalation is not in anyone’s interest”
In recent days, condemnations of Iran have poured in from leaders around the world. At the same time, everyone involved is urged to exercise restraint – also from the Russian side.
– Further escalation is not in anyone’s interest, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
Germany, France and Britain urge Israel to completely refrain from counterattack, adding that Iran’s attack was “largely a complete failure”, write Haavertz.
According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, an Israeli revenge attack will lead to stronger measures than this weekend.
Pushing Offensive in Rafah
After the attack, Israel has also decided to postpone the planned offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to CNN. Another source tells the channel that they are still “firmly determined” to carry out the offensive.
Israel would release leaflets with evacuation information over the city, where over a million people have sought refuge.