JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister warned on Wednesday that his country’s retaliation for a recent Iranian missile attack will be “lethal” and “surprising,” while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden held their first call in seven weeks.
In Gaza, a large-scale Israeli operation in the northern part of the Palestinian territory left dozens of people dead and threatened to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
The continuing cycle of destruction and death in Gaza, unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, comes as Israel expands a weeklong ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and considers a major retaliatory strike on Iran following Iran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage against Israel.
“Our strike will be lethal, precise and above all, surprising. They won’t understand what happened and how. They will see the results,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit Wednesday to an intelligence unit.
“Whoever strikes us will be harmed and pay a price,” he added.
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Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel on Oct. 1 in an escalation of the conflict between the two countries. Israel has been discussing how to respond to the Iranian attack, which the United States helped fend off. Biden has said he would not support a retaliatory strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program.
Against the backdrop of fighting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden held their first call in seven weeks Wednesday, Netanyahu’s office said.
In northern Gaza, there was heavy fighting in Jabaliya, where Israeli forces have carried out several major operations over the course of the war and then returned as fighters regroup. The entire north, including Gaza City, has suffered heavy destruction and has been largely isolated by Israeli forces since late last year.
A rocket fired from Lebanon killed two people in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, and another six were stabbed and wounded in the city of Hadera Wednesday. Police said the attacker was “neutralized,” and later clarified he had been arrested.
Hezbollah claimed the strike on Kiryat Shmona, saying it targeted “a gathering of enemy forces.” Ofir Yehezkeli, the town’s acting mayor, said the two killed were a couple walking their dogs.
Residents of Jabaliya, an urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, said thousands of people have been trapped in their homes since the operation began Sunday, as Israeli jets and drones buzz overhead and troops battle combatants in the streets.
“It’s like hell. We can’t get out,” said Mohamed Awda, who lives with his parents and six siblings. He said there were three bodies in the street outside his home that could not be retrieved because of the fighting.
“The quadcopters are everywhere, and they fire at anyone. You can’t even open the window,” he told The Associated Press by phone, speaking over the sound of explosions.
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