After Defense Minister Benny Gantz suggested the Iranians were responsible for the missile attack on an Israeli-owned cargo ship last week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi on Sunday said the incident was a reminder that Iran “spreads terrorism and is conducting terrorist activities against civilian targets.”
“We were reminded that Iran is not just a nuclear threat,” he said at the 8200 Intelligence Unit’s change-of-command ceremony.
“The State of Israel is constantly dealing with multiple threats,” Kochavi said. “All of our fronts are active, and all these fronts require updated, real-time intelligence [to defend] against a rocket [attack], against infiltrations, against cyberattacks, against [threats to] ships and threats on fighter jets.”
“The intelligence is intertwined on all these fronts, and we can’t do without it,” he said.
“This is the place to reiterate that the IDF is acting and will act against all threats in the closer circle and in the wider circle,” Kochavi said. “And as always, it will do it via the high-quality intelligence that the Intelligence Directorate provides.”
During the ceremony, Unit 8200 received an award for outstanding achievements.
Due to 8200’s successes, “we all gain from high-quality intelligence, which is based on unprecedented breakthroughs,” Kochavi said.