PM Netanyahu speaks at the officers' course graduation ceremony. (Kobi Gideon/GPO) (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Netanyahu

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“The iron fist of the IDF is powerfully striking whoever strives to attack us and will continue to do so,” Netanyahu stated.

By: United with Israel Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Israel’s enemies as the Jewish state faces ongoing tensions and threats on its southern border from Hamas and in the north from Hezbollah and Iran.

Netanyahu on Wednesday addressed an IDF officers’ course graduation ceremony at IDF Training Base #1 in the south, during which he stated that “I do not intend to go into detail about what we are planning vis-à-vis Gaza. The intensity will be stepped up as necessary. We are prepared for any scenario and our enemies would do well to understand this – now.”

The violence emanating from Gaza has significantly increased in recent weeks. Israel’s citizens in the south on Tuesday night experienced the worst overnight bombardment since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. Gaza-based terrorists fired 45 rockets at Israeli communities.

Israel has stated that it does not want to escalate the situation, although Hamas’ daily assaults make the option of a full-blown conflict more conceivable.

Regarding the Syrian front, Netanyahu said that Israel is “constantly working to prevent Iranian forces and their proxies from establishing a military presence there. We will not allow those who call for our destruction to turn Syria into a base for aggression against Israel.”

Israel has long been concerned about the Iranian military buildup in Syria and views it as a severe threat to its security.

The IDF has carried out multiple airstrikes against Iranian military targets inside Syria, culminating with an attack last month in which Israel’s Air Force, responding to Iranian rocket fire on the north, launched its largest attack in Syria in decades and destroyed some 50 Iranian targets.

“The iron fist of the IDF is powerfully striking whoever strives to attack us and will continue to do so,” Netanyahu underscored.