The Israeli government decided it will respond to the Iranian missile attack by hitting a strategic target deep in the Iranian territories, reports have said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will finalize targets, timing and means for the response to Iran's missile attack after coordinating with their US-led allies, the reports said on Wednesday.
The decision that there will be an Israeli military response to the Iranian attack came following two lengthy sessions of the war cabinet held on Wednesday after Tel Aviv confirmed that Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
The Iranian attack came shortly after a new opinion poll showed that Netanyahu’s popularity, which was battered after the Hamas attacks on October 7, has been boosted by his country’s military successes against Lebanon and Iran.
Therefore, Israel believes it is necessary to strongly respond on both fronts, even though the Iranian missiles did not kill any Israeli.
Two Conflicting Stories
On Tuesday, Iran was keen to inform Israel, via Washington, of its anticipated attack, similar to Tehran’s response on April 14 to the Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus, where seven were killed, including two top commanders.
The Israeli army’s spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, appeared two hours before the Iranian attack on Israel and asked the public to follow the Home Front Command guidelines, warning that a fire from Iran could be wide in scope.
Iran then primarily targeted military sites, claiming that 90% of the missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.
However, Israel denied this claim and said only few missiles landed while the majority was intercepted.
In fact, the majority of missiles were intercepted by Israel. But some ballistic missiles did manage to strike, damaging the Nevatim air base in southern Israel, a military compound north Tel Aviv and near the Ben Gurion International Airport in the city of Lod.
Following the ballistic attack, Iran tried to conclude a public deal with Israel, indirectly announcing that the attack was its final response to the killings of (Hamas chief) Ismail Haniyeh, (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforushan.
Iran indirectly signaled that it would not object to Israel's escalation in Lebanon and Syria, the ongoing military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, and any military attack against the Houthis in Yemen and Iranian proxies in Iraq.
But Israel's political and military leaderships consider that Iran had crossed the red lines by firing missiles towards Israel, and therefore, they demand a harsh deterrent response.
Iranian nuclear strike
The US administration clearly senses that Netanyahu is close to involving Washington in a war against Iran.
Netanyahu is convinced that the Iranian leadership has decided to develop a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the Israeli PM believes that the time has come to realize his ambitions and attack Iran’s nuclear sites.
Netanyahu knows that Israel lacks the capabilities to stage such an attack on Iran. Instead, he plans to drag the US into a showdown with Iran, and risks a broader war.
But the US administration is convinced that a military solution does not guarantee the destruction of Iran's nuclear program and that diplomatic channels are still an option.
The US had already resumed talks with Tehran on its nuclear program and says there could be a positive trend in this regard.
The administration in Washington believes Netanyahu is seeking to sabotage the US-Iran talks and is using the war on Gaza and Lebanon to push the American administration to end any political solution and instead, launch decisive strikes against Tehran.
Therefore, the US is discussing with Israel the response to the Iranian attack, but in a measured way.
Israeli observers point out that both sides are considering practical plans, in which the Americans aim to achieve some of the Israeli objectives but in a way that allows Iran adopt its former strategy of “patience” and therefore, not feel obliged to respond.
