The IDF on Wednesday said it was calling up reserve troops to bolster the military's air defenses amid threats from Iran to retaliate for the killing of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps general Mohammed Reza Zahedi in Damascus earlier this week, in a strike attributed to Israel, the military increased its alert in expectation of a retaliatory attack.
Earlier Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel must be prepared for any threat from enemies near and far. "We are increasing our preparedness and at the same time expanding our operations against Hezbollah and others who are threatening us," he said during a drill by the IDF's Home Front command in Haifa.
"We are hitting our enemies all over the Middle East," he said. Gallant said the government will soon have to decide how to safely return the residents of the north home after they were evacuated on October 7. "We prefer a diplomatic agreement that would remove the threat but must prepare for a scenario of war so we must be prepared and accept that it may occur," he said.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday vowed that there would be revenge for the Quds Force commander's death and on Wednesday, the IRGC issued another warning that a deadly attack would be “carried out soon. The resistance front will do its duty.”
Gallant said the result of battles is determined by what is inflicted on the enemy but also on what the enemy inflicts on us. "If G-d forbid there is war, we must make sure that the number of casualties is as small as possible, and the amount of damage is minimal while the damage to the other side is as much as possible. We are not seeking war with Lebanon and I can tell you that such a war will be a difficult challenge for Israel, but it would be catastrophic for Hezbollah and for Lebanon, not least for Beirut and the south."