Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on world leaders to join the Operation Roaring Lion, aka Epic Fury against Iran, as he and numerous other Israeli officials visited the impact site of an Iranian missile attack in the southern city of Arad on Sunday.
“They have the capacity to reach deep into Europe,” Netanyahu warned. “They are putting everyone in their sights.”
“If you want proof that Iran endangers the entire world, the last 48 hours have proved it,” he said. “They fired on Jerusalem right next to the holy sites of the three monotheistic faiths.”
“It’s time to see the leaders of the rest of the countries join up,” Netanyahu pointed out. “I’m happy to see that some of them are moving in that direction, but more is needed.”
The Iranian missile attack on Saturday wounded dozens of people and caused serious destruction to the area in Arad.
“We’re responding with great force, but [we are] not [going] after civilians,” Netanyahu said when asked by the press what Israel’s actions would be in response to the attacks from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The prime minister said it was “a miracle” that no one was killed in the missile attack on Arad.
Netanyahu: 'Do not be complacent, do not be indifferent'
“I ask the citizens of Israel to enter protected spaces. Do not be complacent, do not be indifferent,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel was “crushing the enemy.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed at the site that those impacted by the hit would receive assistance for the damage. He said that he had instructed the Property Tax Authority to reduce the bureaucracy needed to assist them and to act with “maximum sensitivity and efficiency.”
“No family whose home was damaged will be left without a response. The state will stand behind you and restore every wall and every window that was damaged, so that you can return to routine as quickly as possible,” he assured.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, too, spoke at the site, saying that the hit was clearly a war crime. “The Iranian regime is launching missiles at civilians as a strategy. This is a strategy of war crimes,” he said.
“We had here, actually, a miracle. Seeing the destruction all around, the number of casualties was relatively low,” Sa’ar noted. “All of these attacks have no military meaning or significance whatsoever. The sole purpose, the only objective, is to harm as many civilians as possible,” he said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would continue hitting Iran hard if the attacks persisted.
When asked by the press at the scene whether the war would continue until after the Pessah, he responded that, “Unfortunately, war is not determined by the Jewish calendar.”
“Every day that passes, Iran’s capabilities are being weakened, whether by eliminating another terrorist leader, striking their launch capabilities, or dismantling Iran’s military industry,” Katz explained.
Other ministers also visited the site, including Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Transportation Minister Miri Regev.
President Isaac Herzog arrived at the scene. In his remarks, he said that the war is “a process and it will soon be over. We will get through this.”
Opposition politicians also visited the scene of the missile impact.
Standing there, former prime minister Naftali Bennett said there that the Islamic regime in Iran had lied about its nuclear program. He also warned that it was a threat to Europe.
“Just as they lied about the missiles, so too they lied about the nuclear issue. If we had not acted now, within a short time all of Europe would have been under an Iranian nuclear umbrella,” Bennett said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that the site in Arad was “a difficult scene that shows the work is not yet finished. Iran has ballistic missiles and the capability to strike Israeli civilians.”
“One of the objectives of this war has been defined as eliminating all of Iran’s ballistic capabilities, and we cannot stop until that happens,” Lapid insisted.
In parallel, he criticized the government, saying that it should stop “wasting billions on coalition-related spending [which] should instead be sent to Soroka [Medical Center] and to the rehabilitation of the South.”
The Democrats Party leader, Yair Golan, accused the prime minister of prolonging the war for his own political interests, to push off the elections.
Golan said at the scene, “Netanyahu has turned national security into a tool for his political survival; this is why we have been in a war that does not end for two and a half years.”
“Instead of leading toward a resolution and a diplomatic move that stabilizes reality, he prolongs the war because ending it would require elections and replacing the government,” Golan said.