Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that the Israeli military was ready to restart the war against Iran and that it could happen as soon as “tomorrow.”
Katz vowed that Israel would bomb Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh if Hezbollah rockets were fired into northern Israel and that the IDF was prepared to respond if that prompted Iranian attacks on northern Israel.
“There is no reality in which Israel will not respond to an Iranian attack,” Katz said, according to Israel Hayom. “The equation stands – rocket fire on Israeli communities means an immediate assault on the Dahiyeh. “The possibility exists that Iran will attack Israel not only in response to strikes in the Dahieh. We could find ourselves at war with Iran tomorrow.”
The Israeli minister said that a second potential scenario that would lead to a renewed war with Iran would be if President Trump decides to restart the bombing campaign. “There are two scenarios that would resume full-scale fighting – a decision by President Donald Trump or Iranian missile fire. This could happen in two days,” he said.
Katz also insisted that Israel was ready to fight Iran on its own, which he called a “blue and white operation,” despite the fact that Israel is extremely reliant on US air defenses. “The IDF is just waiting for it. We have selected targets to strike in Iran, and the IDF is prepared and alert, but we will not interfere with the US President’s current moves vis-a-vis the Iranians,” he said.
Katz also boasted about the destruction of Shia Muslim villages in southern Lebanon. “It was clear during Operation Silver Plow that the Shia villages along the contact line had to disappear,” he said, using the codename for Israel’s recent operations in southern Lebanon.
“We are currently in a situation where there is nearly 100% destruction in the contact-line villages of the western and central sectors. In the eastern sector, we are at 73% of villages destroyed,” Katz added.
