Photo: slovoidilo.ua
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has confirmed the deployment of the THAAD mobile anti-missile system to Israel to intercept medium-range missiles. This was reported by israelinfo. Speaking to journalists before his departure for Ukraine, Austin said that the THAAD system is already in Israel. Although he avoided a direct answer to the question of whether the system is ready to defend the country from possible missile attacks, he assured: “We can put it on alert very quickly.”
No single solution to respond to the Iranian attack
Almost three weeks after the Iranian missile attack on Israel, the government is still debating how to respond to the incident. The day before, the military-political cabinet met for a nightly meeting, but discussed everything but a retaliatory strike against Iran. Moreover, the prime minister and defence minister were not given the authority to make a decision on a strike without the participation of other members of the government.
Drone attack and criticism of the IDF response
One of the main issues was the response to the Hezbollah drone attack on Caesarea, which the ministers said was an attempt on the life of the Israeli prime minister. They also criticised the IDF’s response, calling it “too sluggish”.
Attempt on Prime Minister’s life as a blow to the whole of Israel
Sarah Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s wife, noted that the attempt was not only against her husband, but also against the whole of Israel.
Hezbollah warns of possible consequences
The Saudi TV channel Al-Hadas reports that Israel has officially warned the Hezbollah group that if the assassination attempts on senior Israeli officials continue, the IDF will strike at Dahiyeh, a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood in southern Beirut that is considered a stronghold of the group.