Israel to face unprecedented challenges in war with Iran, says defence minister

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that Israel will face unprecedented challenges during any war with Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, local media have reported.

“If, God forbid, a war occurs, the Israeli home front is expected to face challenges the likes of which we have never known in our 75 years of existence,” the Times of Israel reported Gallant as saying. “This requires us to be prepared in advance, with optimal preparation.”

He added that the function of the home front, at all levels, is of great importance, with a decisive role. “As in any arena, even on the home front, we are committed to thorough and early preparations, for optimal performance in an emergency.”

Gallant insisted that the country must prepare for the “most severe” scenarios, in which Israelis will have to face many challenges. “Only the successful functioning of the home front… will allow the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] and the defence establishment to fulfil the tasks on the frontier.”

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The minister made his remarks following a visit to the IDF Home Front Command headquarters in the city of Al-Ramlah during a large-scale, two-week drill simulating a multifront war.

During Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is “committed to acting against the Iranian nuclear programme, against missile attacks… and against the possibility of the convergence of the arenas, what we call a multifront campaign.”

He expressed his confidence that Israel can deal with any threat on its own, “and also with other means.”