Israel vows to hit Iran with ‘surprise’ attack in revenge for missile strike and warns Tehran ‘will not know what hit them’

Israel has promised that Iran will be “surprised” by a “lethal” response to its missile attack earlier this month.

The Middle East is eagerly awaiting Israel’s response to a rocket attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.

After describing the October 1 Iranian missile attack as a failure, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video from his office: “Whoever attacks us will be hurt and pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and, above all, surprising. They won’t understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results.’

No specific threats have been made, although there are fears that Israel will attack Iranian oil fields or nuclear facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation will be met with massive destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region.

It comes as revelations about rising tensions between the leaders of Israel and the US, considered by many to be the state’s closest ally, were revealed in a new book by legendary journalist Bob Woodward.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (pictured) said: ‘Whoever attacks us will be hurt and pay a price’

Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel are seen in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Smoke rises after an Israeli attack targets Beirut’s southern suburbs

In “War,” a book due out next week, Woodward reports that Joe Biden regularly accused Netanyahu of having no strategy, shouting, “Bibi, what the fuck?” against him in July, after Israeli attacks near Beirut and Iran.

Asked about the book, a US official familiar with the two leaders’ previous interactions said Biden has used sharp, direct, unfiltered and colorful language both with and about Netanyahu during his time in office.

Gallant canceled a visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday, the Pentagon said. Gallant said in a statement that he postponed the visit at Netanyahu’s request until after the prime minister spoke with Biden.

US officials have been blindsided by many of the military actions Israel has taken in recent weeks, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, with which it has been at war in recent weeks.

Rescue workers search for survivors at a Civil Protection emergency center that was hit early October 10, 2024, during a nighttime Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Derdghaiya.

A woman holds the hand of a child as Syrians who were refugees in Lebanon return to their homeland after traveling to the opposition in the northern province of Idlib through the Aoun al-Dadat border crossing north of Manbij, on October 9, 2024

A new round of airstrikes hit the outskirts of Beirut late Sunday, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon. Palestinian officials said at least 19 people were killed in an attack on a mosque in Gaza.

Rocket sirens and explosions were heard late on Sunday in Haifa, northern Israel, and Hezbollah claimed the attack.

The Israeli military said at least five projectiles have been identified as coming from Lebanon and that “fallen projectiles” have been found in the area. The army showed what appeared to be rubble along a street.

Magen David Adom ambulance service said they treated a teenager with shrapnel wounds to the head and a man who fell from a window in an explosion.

A year after Hamas’ attack on October 7, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has exchanged fire with Israel along the border since the start of the war in Gaza.