The Israeli military is preparing for at least several days of fighting with Iran and the possibility of a prolonged campaign, an Israeli military official said Monday.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since Israel and Iran resumed fighting, the official accused Iran of breaking the April ceasefire when it began firing ballistic missiles at Israel late Sunday night.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Iran fired close to 30 ballistic missiles since its first attack. Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired two more missiles, one of which was intercepted and the other fell short of Israeli territory.
In response, Israel launched two waves of attacks on Iran, the official said. The first wave targeted strategic aerial defense systems, and the second targeted a petrochemical facility that the IDF says assists in the manufacture of ballistic missiles and other types of weapons.
The military official stressed that all strikes so far were carried out solely by Israel and that the US assisted Israel in aerial defense by intercepting some of the missiles.
The official added that the IDF has coordinated with US Central Command and that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke twice to CENTCOM commander, Adm. Brad Cooper, in the past 24 hours.
