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Israel not intimidated by Iranian onslaught, says Defense Minister

‘Any enemy that fights us will be hit, no matter where they are,’ says Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran’s massive missile and drone attack over the weekend will not “deter Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) told IDF troops Tuesday, lauding the highly successful efforts of the Israeli military and a coalition of Western powers and moderate Arab states in intercepting incoming projectiles.

Gallant visited Israel’s northern border Tuesday, where he held an operational situation assessment together with senior IDF officials and troops operating in the area of the Western Galilee.

During his visit, Gallant held a discussion with IDF commanders about efforts to drive Hezbollah forces away from the Israeli border, and commended soldiers for their performance.

The Defense Minister also discussed the Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend, emphasizing that Iran will fail to deter Israel and to prevent Israel from acting against Iranian attempts to strengthen its capabilities across the Middle East.

Gallant noted that less than 1% of the incoming missiles and drones managed to reach their targets inside Israel, despite a massive barrage of over 500 projectiles.

“The Iranians attacked us aggressively using over 500 weapons, [yet] not a single cruise missile or UAV reached Israel, and out of 100 ballistic missiles, four fell in Israel. This is the result of our preparations with our international partners, as well as the IDF’s capabilities,” Gallant told IDF soldiers.

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“The Iranians will not be able to establish a new status of deterrence against the State of Israel. IAF aircraft operate everywhere – the skies of the Middle East are ‘open,’ and any enemy that fights us will be hit, no matter where they may be.”

“The tasks at hand are serious. I see what you [referring to the troops] are doing, and I am convinced that we will reach the stage when our citizens will be able to return to their homes safely – we will achieve this either via military action or via an agreement. It is always better to [reach] an agreement, but we are preparing for all possibilities.”