Two U.S. officials said Iran could launch more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles at Israel on Friday, targeting military bases, according to a CBS News report. The magnitude of the attack could be challenging for Israel, the officials said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned security chiefs for a consultation on Friday afternoon as threats of an imminent Iranian strike, mount.
India and France issued travel warning to the region on Friday and on Thursday, the U.S. urged its citizens in Israel to avoid travel outside central areas, Beer Sheva and Jerusalem.
In its report, CBS quoted Sima Shine, a security expert and former Mossad official who said this was a dangerous moment for the region, and the "most worried" she has been.
"They will try to do it on the military or some military asset," Shine predicted of the Iranian attack. "But the question will be the damage. If there would be many injured people, killed or injured… I think it has the potential for a huge escalation."
Israel has been bracing for an attack from Iran or its proxies since the killing of a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds force in a strike on Damascus last week, that was attributed to Israel although the military did not claim responsibility for it.
The military did not announce special protective measures that Israelis should take but urged vigilance and asked that citizens remain updated.
The Wall Street Journal said earlier that an Iranian strike was expected in the next 24 to 48 hours although a source told the paper that the regime in Tehran had yet to decide whether to launch an attack.