"Israel will not stand by while Iran advances its nuclear program," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tuesday and vowed to respond further.
Speaking at IDF's Northern Command, the defense minister toured the area along with IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevy, Northern Command head Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram, Division 91 head Brig.-Gen. Shlomi Binder and other senior officials.
The visit came as tensions ramp up on the border with Lebanon, with rockets having been fired into Israel by the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. This also comes amid Lebanon's continuing economic crisis.
Gantz said Israel is willing to provide aid to their northern neighbor but added that it "will not enable the tragedy in Lebanon to cross the border into Israel. We are well aware of Hezbollah’s attempts to exploit the situation at the expense of the safety and livelihoods of Lebanese citizens – under the direct influence of Iran.”
As with Hezbollah, Israel has also seen rising tensions with Iran, which has been accused of being behind the recent attack on a ship, the Mercer Street, off the coast of Oman.
“Just as we saw in the maritime attack, which claimed the lives of two foreign nationals, Iran is the greatest threat to global and regional peace. Israel will not stand by while Iran advances its nuclear program. We call on the international community to take action and stop Iranian aggression. This is the time for joint action,” Gantz said.
“At the same time, we will continue to defend ourselves against the Iranian attempt to become an existential threat to the State of Israel and to transfer advanced munitions to its proxies on our borders. We will operate in the time and place and via the means that we will determine.”