Israel warns Iran allies are learning how to fight IDF in widening conflict
An Israel Defense Forces official speaking to
Newsweek has warned that the country's Arab neighbors and Iran-aligned militias operating from within these nations and across the region are studying how the IDF wages its war in Gaza in the event these forces become engaged in their own conflict with Israel.
Israel has rolled out land, air and sea capabilities in its ongoing battle with Gaza-based movements such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which continue to fire thousands of rockets despite the bombardment. The worst conflict in years has wrought devastation and drawn international attention, some of it unwanted from the perspective of Israel, a country with an existential history of fighting multi-front wars.
"I think that all the countries and different terror organizations, of course led by Iran, that surround us, they look at this conflict, and they want to learn, learn about the IDF, its capabilities, its defense capabilities, its aerial and naval capabilities," an IDF official told
Newsweek. "It's not surprising that all the eyes of the world are watching, and all the eyes of the terror organizations are watching the Gaza Strip."
As Israel's fourth major confrontation in Gaza continued to erupt, signs of unrest have already broken out along Israel's other nearby flashpoints.
Rockets fired Wednesday from southern Lebanon were intercepted by the advanced Iron Dome defense system near the Israeli city of Acre, marking the third such launch from across the northern border over the past week. On Friday, rockets reached Israeli territory from Syria, coming across yet another hostile border.
Neither incident resulted in any reported damage, but the implications were clear: nearby forces were reminding Israel that they too could strike at any time. Even closer to home, a spate of attacks conducted by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank in solidarity with fighters in Gaza signal another worrisome development for a nation besieged by foes.
"Specifically, the IDF is, of course, focused right now on the Gaza Strip, but we never forget that we have other fronts as well," the IDF official said, "either the Lebanese or Syrian front or the Judea and Samaria West Bank front, and the other farther fronts, and the IDF is always on guard on all the fronts."
The IDF official issued a warning to those trying to take advantage of the considerable resources Israel was dedicating to its fight in Gaza.
"I think it will be a mistake from their side to try and test us when we are focused on the Gaza Strip," the IDF official said. "We have the capabilities to defend ourselves, even with multiple arenas, even if we're very much focused right now on the Gaza Strip and the Gaza conflict."
"I think that all the countries and different terror organizations, of course led by Iran, that surround us, they look at this conflict, and they want to learn," an Israel Defense Forces official told Newsweek.
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