Iranian attack on Israel expected this week: intelligence reports

Israel is expecting a major Iranian attack to be launched within days.

The country has been bracing for an Iranian response since the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, which Israel has not confirmed or denied carrying out.

After a week passed without an attack, there were hopes that heavy international pressure had deterred Iran from responding.

Instead, Iran had been expected to leave the response to Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group, whose top military commander Fuad Shukr was killed by Israel in an airstrike in Beirut several hours before Haniyeh’s assassination. Israel blamed Shukr for being behind many attacks on civilians, including a rocket strike last month that killed 12 children in a soccer field in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights.

That assumption was challenged on Monday when both Israeli and US intelligence sources said it was likely Iran would attack Israel this week.

The Israeli intelligence community still thinks Hezbollah is likely to attack first in retaliation for the assassination of its top military commander in Beirut but that Iran could join with a direct attack of its own.

The new intelligence suggests an attack could come before the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal talks planned for Thursday, which could put the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas at risk.

"The Iranians openly signal (on the ground) their determination to carry out a significant attack in addition to their public statements that the attack will exceed the one they carried out in April. Iranian public statements do not reflect any retreat," a senior Israeli official told Axios.