At a meeting of the war cabinet Saturday night after Iran launched its aerial attack on Israel, ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot pressed Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately counterattack, according to a report by Barak Ravid in Axios, citing three Israeli officials.
The Prime Minister’s Office denied this report, calling it “precisely the opposite of reality.”
Gantz and Eisenkot reportedly argued that the longer Israel waited to respond to the Iranian bombardment, the less international support it would have in doing so. They also claimed that an immediate counterattack, launched as Iranian drones were still on their way to Israel, would stave off another wave and end the exchange.
According to the report, Netanyahu and other members of the war cabinet rejected an immediate counterattack, vying instead to wait to see how many casualties, and how much damage, the Iranian attack caused.
As of Sunday night, one 7-year-old girl remains in critical condition, wounded by the attack. Light damage was done to the Nevatim Air Base, but it remains functional. Israel estimates that it intercepted 99% of Iran’s attacks.
Prime Minister wanted to wait for a call with Biden before striking
Netanyahu also reportedly wanted to wait until he spoke with US President Joe Biden before launching a counterstrike.
“There were several options for a retaliation,” one official was quoted as saying, “but the call stopped it.”