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Tel Aviv: Israel has warned that it will respond in a rare address by IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi on Tuesday in the next counter-attack against threats from its enemies in Iran, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
“In the next war, we will alert the population in Lebanon and Gaza. The moment tension begins that they will have to leave the areas in which rockets and missiles are being stored,” Kokhavi said at an annual conference of the Israeli INSS think tank Said in speech.
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He said: “In the face of these threats, we will respond with a highly significant counterattack, which will include rockets, missiles and weapons, whether in open areas, or inside or around buildings.”
He said the Jewish states of Iran and its allies, namely Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, have long been enemies, improving their capabilities.
Hezbollah and Hamas have long received financial and military support from Tehran. Israeli defense officials estimate that Iran spends $ 1 billion annually on Hezbollah and $ 100 million on Hamas.
“Over the past decade, both Hezbollah and Hamas have formed armies, which they can use to eventually invade Israel – we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening. Additionally, these organizations are in possession of more and more sophisticated weapons. ”
Lebanon and Israel are still in a formal state of war and have long contested their land and sea borders. Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in recent years against suspected Iranian military deployments in neighboring Syria or the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah.
But, Kochvi said Israel’s territorial enemies were “in a very bad state at this time,” either because of the consequences of the coronovirus epidemic, or “a deep lack of trust between the public and their leaders.”
He stressed, however, Israel’s military preparedness: “I have instructed the IDF to prepare several operational plans in addition to the existing ones, which we will develop in the coming year. The power to initiate them lies in the political arena. However, aggressive choices need to be made, prepared and put on the table. ”
And Kochavi warned Israeli citizens of explosions and debris, which could fall in urban areas: “It is an opportunity and an obligation for me to see Israeli citizens as clearly as possible during a war. – Remind me on the day, many missiles and rockets will explode here and it won’t be easy. “