Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a limited security discussion Sunday evening with Defense Minister Israel Katz and senior defense officials, following Israel’s strike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahieh district and threats from Iran in response.
The discussion is expected to focus on the Lebanese front, the possibility of escalation by Hezbollah and threats from Tehran.
A security official said Sunday evening that Israel does not know whether Iran will carry out its threats and attack, but the current assessment is that the likelihood is low. Still, he said, the defense establishment is prepared for every scenario.
“We don’t know if Iran will attack. We assess that it won’t, but if they do, then all bets are off,” the official said. “We are prepared for every scenario, and that is why the discussion is being held with the prime minister.”
The official said the strike in Dahieh marked a clear change in Israel’s equation with Hezbollah and Lebanon. Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut, is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
“The equation has changed,” the official said. “From now on, if they hit Israel, we will strike in Beirut. We have no restriction. Hezbollah knows this.”
He added that the strike was coordinated with the Americans, and that Washington understands Israel’s logic: fire at Israeli territory will be answered with attacks on Hezbollah centers in the Lebanese capital.
The comments came after the IDF said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Dahieh on Sunday, the first such strike since the latest understandings on a ceasefire in Lebanon. The attack followed Hezbollah fire toward communities in northern Israel, after Israeli officials had warned that they would not allow Hezbollah to fire into Israel while its headquarters in Beirut remained outside the range of Israeli strikes.
Iran also issued threats after the strike. Officials in Tehran warned that Israel would pay a price for the action in Dahieh, but Israeli officials currently assess that Iran may settle for threats, or possibly a limited symbolic move, rather than a broader escalation.
After an IDF situational assessment, the military said there was no change to Home Front Command defensive guidelines. The current policy will remain in effect until Monday at 8 p.m. For now, there is no change in instructions to the public, but the IDF said the public would be updated if the situation changes.