IDF on ‘high alert’ as Biden vows US to defend Israel against ‘all threats from Iran’
White House says president and Netanyahu discussed ‘new defensive US military deployments’ during phone call; Hezbollah fires rockets at north for first time since commander killed
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday said it was on “high alert” as the country braces for a response to the assassinations this week of Hezbollah’s military chief in Beirut and Hamas’s leader in Tehran, but pledged the military knew how to handle any threat.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile spoke with US President Joe Biden, who the White House said stressed America’s commitment to defending Israel’s security “against all threats from Iran,” and that the two discussed new US military deployments to protect against possible attacks from ballistic missiles and drones.
The call came as Israeli television reported that Israel was working to finalize the coordination of a regional and international coalition in order to thwart a potential response by Iran and Hezbollah to the killings of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, as was the case when Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel on April 13-14.
While the IDF has claimed responsibility for killing Shukr, Israel has not officially commented on the assassination of Haniyeh, which Hamas, Iran and their allies have blamed on it.
“We struck on Tuesday night in Lebanon and killed Fuad Shukr in an accurate aerial strike. I want to emphasize, there was no other aerial strike, not a missile and not an Israeli drone, in the entire Middle East that night, and I won’t comment further,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday when asked about Haniyeh.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-on-high-alert-as-biden-vows-us-to-defend-israel-against-all-threats-from-iran/