Yesterday Benjamin Netanyahu left no doubt about Israel’s plan to defeat Hamas. Speaking from the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, he declared, “We are ready for every scenario and will stand united and determined against every threat. Israel will exact a very heavy price for any aggression against us.” Some reports indicate that Israel might not be ready for war with Iran, but Netanyahu said Israel has a “high level of readiness.”

The New York Times is reporting that a hidden, remote-controlled bomb in a guesthouse killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, not a missile as had been reported earlier. The U.S. “assesses” Israel was behind the death, but no official statements have been made yet. The report says that the device was placed in the guesthouse two months ago.

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The Times is also reporting that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has ordered Iran to strike Israel in retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh. Their information comes from Iranian military leaders who were briefed on the order but wanted to remain anonymous. The Times did confirm that two of the officials are members of the Revolutionary Guards.

The officials gave the New York Times a surprising level of detail about Iran’s plans: “another combination attack of drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa, but would make a point of avoiding strikes on civilian targets, the Iranian officials said. One option under consideration is a coordinated attack from Iran and other fronts where it has allied forces, including Yemen, Syria and Iraq, for maximum effect.”

Khamenei also made a public statement about Iran’s plans to attack Israel, stating, “we see avenging his blood our duty.”

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Photo Credit: Khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48128231)