The IDF on Thursday said it has halted leave for all combat units after an Israeli airstrike that killed an Iranian general in Damascus earlier this week drew threats of retaliation.
“In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF combat units,” the IDF said in a statement. “The IDF is at war, and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements.”
On Wednesday, the IDF said it would call up reservists to bolster the IAF’s air defenses.
The decisions come amid heightened tensions in Israel and increasing threats by Iran in the wake of an alleged Israeli strike in Syria, which killed senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday said Israel would pay a “heavy price” for the attack.
IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari on Thursday said: “IDF soldiers are well deployed in both defensive and tactical arrays on all borders and are prepared for a variety of scenarios. We must be alert, and at the same time, I want to emphasize, there is no change to the Home Front Command’s guidelines at this time.”
New developments come amid Iranian threats
The military would update the public immediately should any changes to its directives ensue, he said.
“We have a multilayered defense system, and we have planes in the skies around the clock for a long period of time now,” Hagari said. “We are prepared for all scenarios. This has been the case for almost half a year, and still when we need to reinforce, we do so, and when we need to hone, we hone our assessments, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
Air-raid sirens sounded a few times in the North on Thursday, the IDF said in a statement. The IDF attacked Hezbollah launch posts in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon overnight, the statement said. After sirens sounded in Betzet and Shlomi, the IDF struck the sources of fire and terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Yaroun, Aynata, and Maroun al-Ras, it said.
הנחיות פיקוד העורף נותרו ללא שינוי. אין צורך לקנות גנרטורים, לאגור מזון ולהוציא כסף מכספומטים.כמו שנהגנו עד היום, אנחנו נעדכן מיד בכל שינוי במידה ויהיה באופן רשמי ומסודר.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) April 4, 2024
For the second day in a row, air-raid sirens sounded in Israeli communities bordering the southern Gaza Strip, including in Kfar Aza. Sirens sounded in the eastern Negev and Netivot, areas that had not been targeted for a few weeks.
In central Gaza, soldiers identified an armed terrorist cell. They tracked them, and when they could be properly identified, a fighter jet targeted the terrorists, eliminating them, and terrorist infrastructure, the IDF said. Soldiers killed numerous terrorists and located weapons throughout Thursday in Khan Yunis’s Al-Amal neighborhood, it said.
Soldiers continued to operate in the area of Abasan al-Jadida, near Khan Yunis. IAF aircraft struck terrorist targets throughout the enclave on Thursday, including launch posts and terrorist infrastructure, the IDF said.
Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this article.