Israel was preparing a military response to Iran鈥檚 missile attack this week that heightened fears of a wider regional war, an Israeli official said Saturday, as fighting raged in Lebanon and in Gaza.
In its second-ever direct attack on its regional foe, the Islamic republic which backs armed groups across the Middle East on Tuesday launched some 200 missiles at Israel in revenge for a spate of Israeli killings of militant leaders.
The missile attack, which killed one person in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, caused some damage to an Israeli air base according to satellite images.
It came as Israeli ground forces began raids into Lebanon after days of intense strikes on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon, transforming nearly a year of cross-border exchanges with the Iran-backed militants into full-blown war.
The Israeli military official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the issue publicly, said that the army 鈥榠s preparing a response to the unprecedented and unlawful Iranian attack鈥�.
He did not elaborate on the nature or timing of the response, which analysts and Israeli media said was likely designed to deal an immense blow to Iran, despite international calls for de-escalation and warnings from Tehran it would retaliate if counterattacked.
Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, told AFP that both Israel and Iran were 鈥榯aking huge gambles鈥�.
鈥楨verything right now hinges on Israel鈥檚 response,鈥� he said.
