Israel’s Kohavi: Preparations to Carry Out Operations Against Iran Moving at Rapid Pace

A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.
A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.
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Israel’s Kohavi: Preparations to Carry Out Operations Against Iran Moving at Rapid Pace

A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.
A photo published by the Israeli army on Twitter from the ceremony to introduce the new Air Force chief on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Chief of Staff of the Israeli army Aviv Kohavi and the newly-appointed Air Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, addressed Iran on Tuesday and cited operations carried out by their forces in the past and their readiness for the future.

At a ceremony Monday, Bar took over his new post, replacing Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, who has served in the position for five years.

During the event, Kohavi said the process of preparing for operations against Iran is currently moving at a rapid pace.

The Israeli Air Force has improved in recent years, but we still have to adapt to the future, Kohavi added.

He referred to the strikes targeting Iranian positions, arms and militias in Syria and other places in the Middle East region.

“We have enhanced our capabilities to launch airstrikes on our enemy,” he stressed, saying the army will continue to do so, while the air force will continue to play a key role in these wars.

He pointed out that the series of attacks have played an important role in preventing Iranian military deployment in Syria to threaten Israel and its citizens.

Kohavi and Bar affirmed that their forces are conducting an average of one military drill per week to ensure preparedness.

On Tuesday, the army conducted a new military exercise in the Red Sea city of Eilat, during which its forces used military vehicles and warplanes.

The military said this drill was planned as part of the 2022 exercises to determine the army’s readiness.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced that he discussed on Tuesday with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi various issues, mainly the Iranian nuclear deal.

It revealed that the coalition deal stipulates that the nuclear file remain within his authority even after handing over his post next year.

In mid-June 2021, Israel’s parliament approved a new coalition government, ending the historic 12-year rule of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sending the polarizing leader into the opposition.

Under the coalition deal, centrist Yair Lapid will replace Bennett as prime minister in August 2023.



Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)
A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)
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Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)
A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)

Rescue workers on Tuesday were sifting through smoldering debris and thick mud in search of survivors, a day after a volcano on Indonesia’s remote island of Flores erupted with fury, killing at least nine people with its searing lava and ash.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, and searing lava, gravel and ash were thrown up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from its crater, blanketing nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to flee.

The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday lowered the known death toll from an earlier report of 10, saying it had received updated information from rescuers that a victim trapped under tons of debris in a collapsed house who was feared dead was eventually rescued alive and was now in critical condition at a hospital. The agency said 63 other people were hospitalized, 31 of them with serious injuries.

More than 2,400 villagers streamed into makeshift emergency shelters after Monday's powerful eruption that burned down seven schools and 23 houses, including a convent of nuns, on the majority-Catholic island, said the agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari.

Smoldering debris, thick mud and a power blackout hampered the evacuation and search efforts, said Kensius Didimus, a local disaster agency chief,

"We’ll do everything we can to evacuate villagers by preparing trucks and motorbikes for them to flee at any time," he said, adding that the debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main roads on the island.

Authorities warned the thousands of people who fled the volcano’s wrath not to return during Tuesday’s lull in activity. But some were desperate to check on livestock and possessions left behind. In several areas, everything — from the thinnest tree branch to couches and chairs inside homes — was caked with ash.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads that were covered in heavy gray ash and houses covered by thick gray mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

The country’s geology agency said a series of eruptions since Thursday had created an accumulation of hidden energy due to a blockage of magma in the crater, which reduced detectible seismic activity while building up pressure.

"The eruptions have eased pressure that had been building under a lava dome perched on the crater," said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, who heads the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation. "But we should anticipate hot ash and debris could tumble down from the crater due to heavy rains."

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his Cabinet and disaster and military officials to coordinate the response, said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.

The country’s volcano monitoring agency increased the volcano’s alert status to the highest level and more than doubled the exclusion zone to a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius after midnight on Monday as eruptions became more frequent.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province known locally as the husband and wife mountains. "Laki laki" means husband, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Frans Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed since then due to seismic activity.

This is Indonesia’s second volcanic eruption in as many weeks. West Sumatra province’s Mount Marapi, one of the country’s most active volcanos, erupted on Oct. 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing nearby villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.