Israel on Monday vowed to retaliate following a weekend barrage of missiles that Iran launched towards the country, shifting the focus away from a planned invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The Israel Defense Forces had reportedly planned to issue evacuation orders in the Gazan city, where more than a million Palestinian civilians are sheltering after Israeli airstrikes decimated the northern reaches of the region. American officials have repeatedly urged Israel to not invade Rafah - describing the proposed action as a "mistake."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly approved plans for a ground invasion, but the Iranian airstrikes and concerns about civilian welfare have delayed any further action in Rafah, the Times of Israel reported.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi confirmed while speaking at the Nevatim air base, that the Iranian attack "will be met with a response," this weekend, the Associated Press reported. The air base was one of the locations within Israel that sustained minor damage following the Iranian attacks.
The two Middle Eastern nations have long been at odds, but last weekend's attack marked the first instance of Iran directly targeting Israel since the current Islamic Republic was created following the 1979 revolution.
Iran praised Hamas in the aftermath of last year's deadly October 7 attacks on Israel, which it claimed were "victories of the anti-Zionist resistance."
Iran has also provided aid to the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group that fired ballistic missiles at the Israeli coast. The nation is also allied with Syria - an important source of weapons for Hamas fighters. Israel claimed that the strike on Iran's Syrian embassy was necessary to take out an Iranian general who is crucial to the weapons supply chain.
World leaders have urged Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government to exercise caution in their next steps. Many fear that a large-scale attack on Iran could plunge the Middle East into war.
While American forces assisted in diverting the Iranian airstrikes, with minimal damage to Israel, the Biden administration is reportedly cautioning Israel to hold back and ensure that their response is "proportional and [brings] this cycle to an end," a U.S. official told Politico.
Iranian leaders announced, over the weekend, that having acted in response to the embassy attacks, they would take no further actions.
"At this point, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention of continuing defensive operations, but if necessary it will not hesitate to protect its legitimate interests against any new aggression," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated on social media.
