Israeli cabinet meets to decide on Iran response

​Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant speaks next to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023.
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant speaks next to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023.
ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS

Israel’s cabinet met Thursday night to debate and vote on a response to Iran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage, but the results have not been made public. Iran’s attack on the Jewish state last week came in response to Israel killing high-level members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant previously said retaliation would be “deadly, precise and, above all, surprising” and the cabinet was expected to authorize a response at the discretion of Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The meeting came just ahead of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement and holiest day of the year in Judaism.

As Eurasia Group’s Cliff Kupchan told GZERO earlier this week, targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure would hurt its economy. We’re watching for escalation, as the current tit for tat began with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Israeli forces carried out the deadliest strikes on Beirut yet, with at least 22 killed in one of the world’s oldest cities. Israeli soldiers also injured an unknown number of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where at least three UN posts came under fire.

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