For first time in weeks, Biden and Netanyahu speak
The US president and Israeli prime minister have just finished speaking over the phone in their first known conversation since August.
Since then, developments in the Middle East have spiraled to the brink of regional war, with Israel opening up a massive campaign against Lebanon and Iran carrying out a missile attack on Israeli territory in retaliation.
The talks between the two leaders are reported to have covered Israel’s response to Iran’s attack, which Israel has promised to carry out with the White House approving publicly.
In this handout photo from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers hold a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, October 9. Editor's note: Parts of this photo have been obscured by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.
Israel’s defence minister says response to Iran’s attack will be ‘surprising’
Israeli Army Radio and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz report that Yoav Gallant says Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack last week “will be deadly, precise and above all surprising. They will not understand what happened and how.”
Iran ready to launch ‘thousands of missiles’ at Israel if attacked
A senior commander with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says Iran is prepared to mount operations much larger than the one last week if attacked by Israel.
“If we hit 200 there, we’re now prepared to land hundreds or thousands of missiles in their occupied territories and hit their security, military and economic centres,” said Ebrahim Jabbari, an advisor to IRGC chief commander Hossein Salami.
He pointed out that Israel is small in geographical size compared with Iran and must, therefore, be careful about the ramifications of an Iranian retaliation.
“We are a vast country. We have created the capability to strike from other points in the country if any one of our points are hit. But what are they going to do? The US won’t dare enter into battle with us, but we can quickly plough that little territory,” Jabbari said in reference to Israel.
EU warns commercial air traffic in Israeli airspace
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has warned airlines to have strict risk monitoring procedures for flights within the airspace of Israel.
“The European Commission and European Union Aviation Safety Agency have updated the Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB) for Israel issued on September 28. The revised CZIB recommends air operators to implement a stringent monitoring process and risk assessment for each flight when intending to operate within the airspace of Israel,” it said.
“The recommendation is valid until October 31 and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment,” it added.
This after Israel came under heavy attack from Iran last week in the form of a missile strike, and promised to retaliate with an attack on Iran.
Last edited by SvennoJ - on 09 October 2024
