Israel issues stern warning to Iran threatening it of severe strikes

Amid ongoing operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Israeli military issued a strong warning to Iran on Oct 29, cautioning that any retaliation for recent Israeli strikes on Tehran would be met with severe force.

Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi stated that if Iran attempted “another missile barrage” against Israel, they would respond by striking “very, very hard,” including with capabilities not yet utilized.

Addressing personnel involved in recent strikes, Halevi indicated some Iranian targets were deliberately avoided this time but could be targeted in future operations. "This situation is far from over; we remain in the middle of it," he added.

Last week, Israeli fighter jets conducted airstrikes on Iranian military installations and missile production sites in response to a ballistic missile attack from Tehran earlier this month.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israeli tanks reached the outskirts of Khiam, marking their deepest advance in the ground operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

In a leadership shift, Hezbollah appointed Deputy Chief Naim Qassem as a temporary successor to Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut last month. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant labeled Qassem’s position as short-lived, stating in a post on X that “the countdown has begun.”

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict along the Lebanese border continues as the broader Gaza conflict escalated following the Hamas attacks on Israeli towns on October 7 last year.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on a residential block on Oct 30 resulted in nearly 100 civilian casualties. This occurred shortly after Israel’s move to ban UNRWA, the main UN aid agency supporting Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.