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The Israeli Defense Minister warned of the increasing risk of a regional conflict in the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalate.
Yoav Galant said on Tuesday before a parliamentary committee that Israel is under attack in a “multi-arena war” from seven regions, which he identified as Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran.
He said: “We have already responded and acted in six of these areas, and I say here in the clearest way – anyone working against us is a potential target, and there is no immunity for anyone.”
Israel declared war on Hamas in Gaza following the Palestinian armed group's surprise cross-border attack on October 7, and quickly launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank against Hamas and other armed militants.
Israel has also exchanged daily fire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon across the shared border, with these incidents intensifying in recent weeks.
A senior Iranian general stationed in Syria, Reza Mousavi, was killed in an airstrike on Monday that Iranian officials attributed to Israel. Tehran pledged that Israel would “pay” the price for his killing.
However, it remains unclear whether Israel has actually directly targeted Iran, Yemen, or Iraq.
Gallant's comments come after the United States announced late on Christmas Day that it had bombed three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia and others belonging to the so-called Resistance Axis in Iraq.
This strike was in response to a drone attack earlier in the day on a military base hosting US forces in Erbil, northern Iraq, which seriously injured an American service member. Iraqi officials said that the US strikes resulted in the killing of a gunman and the wounding of 18 others.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that he and President Joe Biden “will not hesitate to take the necessary measures to defend the United States, our forces, and our interests.” There are 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq to assist local forces fighting ISIS.
Austin added: “Although we do not seek to escalate the conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary actions to protect our people and facilities.”
Also on Tuesday, Egyptian authorities confirmed that a drone, likely launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group, had been intercepted over the Red Sea resort of Dahab.
The Houthis have launched ballistic missiles and drones at Israel since the start of hostilities in Gaza, some of which have been intercepted by Israel's regional allies and the US military.
The Houthis have also stepped up attacks in recent weeks against global shipping crossing the Red Sea, forcing commercial ships to divert around the Horn of Africa. Last week, the United States announced the formation of an international maritime task force to protect shipping through vital checkpoints in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.
Amid mounting Israeli military losses and growing international condemnation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israeli officials have stressed in recent days that the war against Hamas will take time. They are also, so far, unwilling to back down from the ambitious goals set at the beginning of the campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, said that the “basic condition for peace” with Gaza is to “destroy” Hamas, “demilitarize” the Strip and “de-radicalize” the Strip. Palestinian society, including schools and civil society.
“For the foreseeable future, Israel will have to retain overriding security responsibility for Gaza,” Netanyahu wrote, dismissing any future role for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
In his statements before the parliamentary committee on Tuesday, Gallant added that it will be a “long and difficult war,” but it is justified.
We must make it clear that whoever takes a step of this kind [like the October 7 attack] You will be punished. “Whether it takes months or years, this has to be finished,” Gallant said.
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