IDF halts military leave and GPS to prepare for Iranian strike
THE Israeli army has paused leave for all combat units as the country prepares for a possible Iranian attack following the assassination of a top IRGC commander in Syria on Monday.
The army said Israel is at war and “the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements.”
The IDF has also called up additional reservists and bolstered the air defence systems on Israel’s northern borders.
The orders came as Israelis reported widespread GPS disruptions on applications like Google Maps and Waze in the centre of the country yesterday.
Some users were shown to be in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel is causing the disruption on purpose to thwart drone threats, something that has been done since Oct 7 in northern Israel where drone attacks are bigger threats. The IDF is yet to comment on the issue.
Iran promised to “punish” Israel after it allegedly launched an airstrike that killed seven Iranian officials at its consulate in Damascus.
“The defeat of the Zionist regime in Gaza will continue and this regime will be close to decline and dissolution,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top IRGC commander responsible for Iranian activities in Lebanon and Syria, was among those killed, marking it the most valuable target allegedly hit by Israel since Oct 7.
Israel hasn’t taken responsibility for the attack but New York Times quoted four Israeli officials saying Jerusalem was indeed behind the assassination.
The bodies of the Guards were repatriated overnight, the ISNA news agency reported. A funeral ceremony will take place in Tehran today, coinciding with the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations, when Iran and its allies hold marches in support of the Palestinians.
Iran has vowed to retaliate. Israel “will be punished at the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and the other ones”, Khamenei said on Tuesday.
The following day he said the strike was a “desperate” effort by Israel that “will not save them from defeat” in Gaza. “Of course they will be slapped for that action.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant spoke cryptically about the rising tensions in the north following Iran’s threat, saying Israel is currently in a “multi-front war – we see evidence of this every day, including over the last few days.”
“We operate everywhere, every day, in order to prevent our enemies from gaining strength and in order to make it clear to anyone who threatens us – all over the Middle East – that the price for such action will be a big one,” he added.