🛡️ IAF STRIKES KILL THOUSANDS OF IRANIAN FORCES AS US–ISRAEL HUNT BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHERS AND ISRAEL PREPARES MASS RETURN OF STRANDED CITIZENS
💥 Israeli Air Force officer says strikes in Iran eliminated thousands of Iranian soldiers: Col. "Aleph," commander of the Ramat David Airbase, said in a video published by the military, "In the past two days we have killed thousands of Iranian forces."
He said he participated in the latest wave of strikes on a massive Iranian military compound in eastern Tehran.
🛡️ US and Israeli forces hunting mobile launchers used to fire Iran’s ballistic missiles: Iran began the war with an estimated 2,000 medium and long-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. Air Force and the Israeli Air Force are hunting and destroying the mobile launchers needed to fire them.
The assessment is that within roughly 24 hours, Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles toward Israel could be dramatically degraded. Tehran will likely shift tactics and fire more short-range missiles against Gulf states.
✈️ Government approves Operation “Lion Wings” to return Israelis stranded abroad: The Ministry of Transport will allocate 5 million shekels for the operation. A steering committee will be established to set criteria for handling requests and determining return priorities.
The committee will be headed by a representative of the Cabinet Secretary. Members will include the directors-general of the Ministries of Transport, Foreign Affairs, and Tourism, as well as the head of the National Emergency Authority and the director of the Population and Immigration Authority.
The Airports Authority will work to extend operating hours at land border crossings, and the Ministry of Transport will expand options for reaching Israel by sea. The operation will be run through a command and control center to be established at the Home Front Command’s Alon headquarters, with up to 150 soldiers allocated.
💰 Smotrich urges reopening parts of the economy “as soon as tomorrow”: Smotrich told Netanyahu to begin reopening the economy for activities taking place near protected areas. According to the chief economist’s assessment, each week of a full shutdown costs 9.5 billion shekels.
🗣️ Political and international reactions:
🇮🇱 Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Hezbollah must be eliminated, even if it involves entering Lebanon.
🇺🇸 US Senator Lindsey Graham said, “In my opinion, it’s not a question of whether the regime in Iran will fall — but when.”
The U.S. has already bombed more than 20 Iranian ships, including a warship named after Soleimani.
⚠️ Report in Iran: The Houthis threatened Arab countries, saying, “We will attack your sensitive infrastructure if you strike Iran.”
🇨🇳 China is sending a special envoy to the Middle East to “mediate in the conflict,” according to an announcement by the Chinese foreign minister to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
⚖️ Attorney General seeks High Court order on Ben-Gvir dismissal as officials trade responses: Attorney General Baharav-Miara is asking the High Court of Justice to issue an absolute order for the dismissal of Ben-Gvir from his position as the minister in charge of the police.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s response: “At a time when the State of Israel is in one of the most fateful and important wars in its history, a dismissed criminal clerk is trying to promote a governmental coup in a democratic state and to fire an elected official. “There is no precedent in the history of democratic countries in which a clerk dismisses an elected official—Gali Baharav-Miara thinks we are in Iran, and soon she and her gang of criminal clerks will set up Revolutionary Guards here—but democracy will prevail!!!”
The Minister of Defense said: “There is no place for dealing with this at wartime; Ben-Gvir is a central part of the decision-making process.”
MK Yulia Malinovsky said the timing of the Attorney General’s request is “completely detached and utterly unreasonable,” saying Israel is in a fateful war and that divisive issues should not be prioritized while citizens are in shelters and pilots are operating over Tehran.
Prime Minister’s Office said it is inconceivable that during an existential war against Iran, the Attorney General is asking the High Court to issue an absolute order instructing the Prime Minister to dismiss the Minister of National Security during wartime, and said Ben-Gvir will continue to serve in his position.
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