Israel's top military commander has issued a warning to Iran and its armed regional allies against further attacks on the Jewish state, saying that Israel is prepared to respond at a time and place of its choosing.
“Iran should know, its proxies should know and the entire Middle East, anyone who tries to undermine the stability and security of the State of Israel, the IDF will stand firm against them, ready to strike at any time and in any place,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks at a pilot graduation ceremony, two days after the Israeli prime minister vowed to continue targeting anyone who tries to harm the Jewish state, amid growing calls by Israeli officials for more direct strikes on Iran in response to the ongoing attacks on Tel Aviv by Tehran-backed Houthis.
"Israel is consolidating its deterrent power, it is striking at those who seek to harm it, it is collapsing Iran's terror branches one after the other," Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli Knesset.
Netanyahu said Tehran was still "busy licking the wounds from the blows we inflicted on them", adding he had instructed the Israeli military in recent days to attack strategic targets of Yemen's armed Houthi group in response to their missile launches at Israel.
The Houthis fired another missile at Israel on Tuesday, despite multiple airstrikes by the United States and Israel against their positions in Yemen over the past few days.