Today (Tuesday), Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant visited Israel’s northern border, where he held an operational situation assessment together with senior IDF officials and troops operating in the area of the Western Galilee.
Minister Gallant held a discussion with IDF commanders about the importance of the operational activity conducted to drive Hezbollah forces away from the border area, and commended the soldiers for their performances.
Minister Gallant discussed the Iranian attack on Israel and emphasized that Iran will fail to deter Israel and to prevent Israel from acting against Iranian attempts to strengthen [its capabilities] across the Middle East.
Later today, Minister Gallant visited the Galilee Hospital in Nahariya, where he met with injured troops.
“The Iranians attacked us aggressively using over 500 weapons, [yet] not a single cruise missile or UAV reached Israel, and out of 100 ballistic missiles, four fell in Israel. This is the result of our preparations with our international partners, as well as the IDF’s capabilities,” Gallant said.
He continued, “The Iranians will not be able to establish a new status of deterrence against the State of Israel. IAF aircraft operate everywhere – the skies of the Middle East are ‘open,’ and any enemy that fights us will be hit, no matter where they may be.”
Addressing the soldiers, he said, “The tasks at hand are serious. I see what you are doing, and I am convinced that we will reach the stage when our citizens will be able to return to their homes safely – we will achieve this either via military action or via an agreement. It is always better to [reach] an agreement, but we are preparing for all possibilities.”