Military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israeli forces are “on the highest state of readiness, both in attack and defense,” as they prepare for Iran’s promised retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader on Iranian soil.
“We know how to carry out a very rapid offensive, anywhere in Lebanon, anywhere in Gaza, anywhere in the Middle East, above ground and underground,” he told members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday.
In his speech at the Tel Nof air base, the IDF chief noted: “We have conducted very important operations in recent weeks, during which we have eliminated the top commanders of our most problematic enemies, and we are not giving up.”
The Middle East has been tense since the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a targeted attack in Tehran last week, which was reportedly blamed on Israel.
This came shortly after Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander of the Iran-allied Hezbollah, who was killed in Beirut.
There is widespread expectation that an attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies – including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen – is imminent. That, in turn, has raised fears that a strong Israeli counterattack could trigger an all-out war in the region.
Following similar calls made by French President Emmanuel Macron in recent days, he urged Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Macron called on Pezeshkian to do everything possible to prevent further military escalation, which would benefit no one, not even Iran, and would cause lasting damage to regional stability, Macron’s office, the Élysée, said Wednesday night.
Egypt bans night flights over Tehran
Egypt banned its airlines from flying over the Iranian capital Tehran overnight.
“All Egyptian airlines must avoid flights over Tehran,” a safety statement from Cairo’s civil aviation authority said on Wednesday.
Plans for flights over the area are being rejected, it said. The directive will apply from 0100 GMT on Thursday for three hours.
Such a statement from Egypt is “highly unusual,” writes the organization OPS Group, which informs its members about risks and changes in international air traffic.
“It is possible that this is an indication of an Iranian response to Israel, and in turn a potential large number of airspace disruptions,” the group wrote.
Earlier this week, Jordan asked all incoming planes to carry an extra 45 minutes of fuel in case of diversions, while a number of airlines suspended flights to Beirut.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemns murder of Haniyeh
A large bloc of Muslim-majority countries met in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and condemned Haniyeh’s killing.
The foreign ministers of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the killing and “hold Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack.”
The killing of Haniyeh “constitutes a crime of aggression, a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, and a serious breach of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the report said.
In the closing statement of the ministers meeting in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, the OIC also condemned “the ongoing war crimes, aggression and genocide committed by Israel” in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Haniyeh’s replacement praised by Hezbollah and Houthis
Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah congratulated Yehya al-Sinwar after he was appointed on Tuesday as Haniyeh’s successor to the top post within Hamas.
Al-Sinwar was previously the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where he evaded Israeli forces for the past 10 months of war. He was one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people.
Al-Sinwar’s appointment as head of the organization’s political bureau is proof of Israel’s failure, Hezbollah said in a statement.
With the appointment of al-Sinwar, Hamas also sent a “strong message” to Israel and its allies, as Hamas was united in its decisions and remained steadfast. It “continued on the path of resistance and struggle,” Hezbollah said.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas allies congratulated al-Sinwar.
A spokesman for the militia said on X that the Houthis were praying that al-Sinwar would receive “divine support” to fulfill his responsibilities “at this historic stage in the confrontation with Israel.”
