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Key Points
- Israel says it will retaliate against Iran after the latter’s large-scale air attack.
- The US and the EU are considering sanctions against Iran.
- According to recent survey results, Israelis are divided over the issue of an assault on Rafah and response to Iran.
He would likely have to take into account pleas from top ally the United States for restraint after Tehran’s drone and missile attack — as well as calls for the protection of Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Can Israel’s response wait?
Instead, the meetings mostly illustrated stark differences within the cabinet, with some hawkish ministers demanding a punishing retaliation against Tehran and an immediate attack on Rafah — while others prefer Israel wait.
Israel’s military has emphasised that it will respond to the Iranian attack, with military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari saying: “We will do it at the opportunity and the time we will choose”.
Has the attack affected Israel’s plans to attack Rafah?
With combat and bombardment ongoing in central Gaza, Israel has refused to let Palestinian civilians return to the battered north.
The same sources say faltering efforts by US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators towards a truce deal were likely to accelerate the planned attack.
The UN has repeatedly warned of a looming famine in Gaza. Source: AAP / Habboub Ramez/ABACA/PA/Alamy
According to the reports, Netanyahu has become convinced that Hamas — whose 7 October attack on southern Israel triggered the war — was not interested in reaching an agreement after the group’s response to the latest proposal presented in Cairo earlier this month.
But trying to guess a timeline for the Rafah assault from those developments would be mere “speculation”, Erath cautioned.
What are the diplomatic risks for Israel?
Foreign allies could turn a blind eye to any invasion of Rafah in exchange for demanding that “Israel doesn’t respond” to Iran, he said, adding however that this scenario “seems quite unlikely”.
The poll suggests that support for a Rafah offensive, even at a risk to Israel-US relations, is at 44 per cent.
