Israel is keeping up its war in Gaza but is also preparing for scenarios in other areas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, amid concern that Iran was preparing to strike Israel in response for the killing of senior Iranian commanders.
\n\u201cWhoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,\u201d he said in comments released by his office following a visit to the Tel Nof air force base in southern Israel.
\nIsrael has been bracing for possible Iranian retaliation for the killing of a senior general and six other Iranian officers in an airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. Israel has not said it was responsible but Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday Israel \u201cmust be punished and it shall be\u201d for the attack.
\nNetanyahu made his comments as Israeli troops and warplanes started an operation in central Gaza overnight which the military said was aimed at destroying infrastructure of armed Palestinian groups.
\nMost Israeli troops have been pulled out of Gaza, in preparation for an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering. but fighting has continued in various areas of the enclave.
\n\u201cIt was as if the occupation army was launching a new war,\u201d Raouf Abed, 20, said via chat app from in Deir Al-Balah to the south of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp. \u201cThe explosions were non-stop, the sounds came from different directions,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cEvery time we hope there will be a ceasefire, Israel escalates the aggression, as if they are trying to pressure Hamas by hitting on us, the civilians,\u201d he said.
\n(Reuters)military operation. war in Gaza, preparation for scenarios, possible Iranian retaliation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel is prepared to meet all security needs defensively and offensively. Israel is bracing for possible Iranian retaliation for the killing of senior Iranian commanders. Israeli troops and warplanes started an operation in central Gaza, aiming to destroy armed Palestinian groups’ infrastructure. Fighting has continued in various areas of Gaza, with many civilians feeling the impact of the conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3258,652,1943,383,4538,1423,5334,2172,145,298,4407,146,299,3504,493,4271,4593,5330,4371,345,462,6026,6025,3775,1792,837,827,729,114,380,4100,293,6024,18],"class_list":["post-7808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-air","tag-army","tag-assault","tag-attack","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-ceasefire","tag-civilians","tag-embassy","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-hope","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-military","tag-netanyahu","tag-occupation","tag-office","tag-officers","tag-operation","tag-palestine","tag-palestinians","tag-possible-iranian-retaliation","tag-preparation-for-scenarios","tag-pressure","tag-prime-minister","tag-rafah","tag-security","tag-strike","tag-top-news","tag-us","tag-visit","tag-war","tag-war-in-gaza","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n