Israel’s cabinet to vote to authorize Netanyahu on response to Iranian missile attack

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s security cabinet is set to vote on Thursday on authorizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to determine the response to last week’s Iranian missile attack.

Iran fired around 180 missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, which it said was in retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the cabinet will convene on Thursday evening to vote on authorizing Netanyahu and Gallant to determine Israel’s response to the attack.

Netanyahu spoke over the phone Wednesday evening with US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris on Israel's procedure against Iran.

Following the Iranian missile strike, the Israeli army acknowledged that the attack left damage in some of its air bases.

Gallant said on Wednesday that Israel’s strike on Iran will be “lethal, precise, and especially surprising.”

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 42,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

The conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,323 people and injured over 3,700 others since Sept. 23.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar