The Israeli military announced today that it has strengthened defense measures against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip and heightened tensions with Iran following the attack on Tehran's consulate in Damascus and Iranian threats.
The military decided to temporarily suspend the licenses of “combat units”, jam the GPS signal in certain places and enhance the “readiness” after nearly six months of war in Gaza against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
"The Israeli military is at war and the issue of force deployment is constantly reviewed based on needs," the army said in announcing the suspension of the permits.
After a "situational assessment," the army also said, it was decided to increase the number of troops and call up reservists for the air defense network.
Israeli media reported that the army is also recalling more reservists amid “visible threats from Iran”. ?.
The spokesman for the Israeli armed forces, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, clarified that the jamming of the GPS signal is aimed at defending the country from guided weapons such as rockets or drones.
"We have increased readiness. of combat units, where necessary,” Hagari said. “We have strengthened defense systems and prepared aircraft for defense, ready to attack under various scenarios,” he added.
The announcements come after strikes attributed to Israel destroyed the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on Monday, killing 16 people, including seven members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Republic's ideological army.
Iran blamed Israel, which has not confirmed responsibility, and vowed to respond. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Israel would be dealt a heavy blow for this attack.
Since the start of the Gaza war, which erupted after Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, on the northern front (Lebanon, Syria) hostilities have increased with rocket launches and artillery fire.
Israel and the Islamist movement Hezbollah of Lebanon, an ally of Hamas, engage in daily exchanges of fire against along the border of the two countries.
The October 7 attack killed 1,170 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
In retaliation, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have already killed more than 33,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.
Also read: Netanyahu: We know how to defend ourselves
Source: APE-MPE
