Israel warns of swift response to Iran following missile attack

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has indicated that a response to Iran's missile attack on October 1 will be issued “very soon.”

Gallant emphasized that Israel's reaction to any Iranian provocation will be both rapid and precise, reflecting the country's commitment to safeguarding its national security, Caliber.Az reports per Israeli media.

Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts and border communities on October 8, 2023, with rockets and fighter drones, declaring its solidarity with Hamas and causing the displacement of tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes in the north. Israel has vowed to make it safe for those residents to return home.

Gallant told the hostage families that if an opportunity arose to advance a hostage deal by linking the Lebanese and Gazan fronts, Israel would take it. Until now, Israel has sought to separate the two theaters after a year in which Hezbollah had insisted it would not stop attacking Israel without a deal to end the war in Gaza.

The terror group has long hoped for a regional war, uniting various anti-Israel fronts to destroy the Jewish state.

Gallant told the families that in addition to Hamas’s hope for a regional war, he didn’t see a deal on the horizon because “due to what’s happening in Gaza, [Hamas] doesn’t have very much to lose.”

Israel has declared Hamas broadly defeated as a fighting force, though it has not set up any civil government to control Gaza in its place. Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces launched a new offensive in the northern part of the Strip to disrupt efforts by the terror group to regroup.

By Vafa Guliyeva