Israeli Army Radio, in a broadcast at 7 a.m. local time on Monday, said Israel was “counting the time until an Iranian attack.”
Iran had been warning for days of retaliation over the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last Wednesday, where he was visiting for the inauguration of President Massoud Pezechkian.
US efforts to persuade Iran to postpone a major attack have reportedly fallen on deaf ears.
Haniyeh’s killing was a major blow to the Iranian regime’s prestige because it highlighted the fact that Iran uses terrorist proxies abroad to attack Israel and other enemies, yet has a weak defense against such attacks.
The Jordanian regime is also eager to reverse the humiliation it suffered in April when it fired some 300 projectiles at Israel, nearly all of which were intercepted by the Jordanian Air Force, the United States and other regional allies.
In Israel, life is reportedly continuing as normal, with civilians going about their daily business, knowing that Hezbollah could attack the north of the country at any time and air raid sirens could sound in major cities.
The mood lightened somewhat with news of Israeli success at the Olympics over the weekend, including Tom Reubeny’s windsurfing gold medal, but the focus remained on news of a potential Iranian attack: where, when and how.
In similar situations in the past, such as just before the 1967 Six-Day War when Arab leaders made clear their genocidal intentions, Israel has launched pre-emptive attacks rather than waiting to be attacked first.
However, the Biden administration has reportedly indicated it intends to respond on its own if Israel launches an offensive, so unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has some surprise planned, Israel will have to prepare for an attack.
Monday marks the first day of the month of Av and the beginning of nine days of mourning, which will culminate next Tuesday on Av 9, an umbrella day commemorating various tragedies in Jewish history.
It’s a particularly ominous time on the Jewish calendar, but Israeli leaders sounded a note of resolve on Sunday as they urged their nation to prepare.
“Anyone who seeks to do us harm will pay a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
