A security cabinet meeting on Thursday night ended without a decision on what the response should be, the official said
Israel’s government has yet to decide how to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack last week, according to an Israeli official familiar with the matter. A security cabinet meeting on Thursday night ended without a decision on what the response should be, the official said. It’s unclear if there are divisions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government or if it is biding its time.
Meanwhile, Israel stepped up strikes on Beirut on Thursday after two days of relative calm in the Lebanese capital. The Lebanese health ministry said 22 people were killed and 117 wounded in the attacks, which are part of Israel’s campaign to degrade the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Israel says the strikes on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, as well as a ground incursion into the south of the country, are necessary because diplomatic efforts failed to stop Hezbollah’s missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.
Israel’s offensive in Lebanon has so far killed hundreds of people and caused over a million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced from near the Lebanese border and around 25 civilians have been killed by Hezbollah’s attacks over the past year.
A day before the cabinet meeting, US President Joe Biden had his first call with Netanyahu in about six weeks. The two discussed Iran’s salvo on Oct. 1 — which caused little damage but forced millions of Israelis into shelters and killed a person in the West Bank — and the response from Israel.
