Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran “crossed a red line” by firing rockets toward military stations in northern Israel from Syria.
“Iran crossed a red line. We responded accordingly. The [Israel Defense Force] conducted a large-scale attack against Iranian targets in Syria,” Netanyahu said, referencing the counter-strike Israel conducted overnight at Iranian targets in Syria, Haaretz reported.
Netanyahu said he will be the first to harm countries that intend to inflict harm on Israel.
“Whoever harms us — we will harm him many times over, and whoever prepares to harm us — we will act to harm him first. That’s what we did and we will continue to do so,” Netanyahu said during his Thursday remarks.
אני חוזר ואומר: מי שיפגע בנו – אנו נפגע בו שבעתיים, ומי שנערך לפגוע בנו – נפעל לפגוע בו קודם לכן. כך עשינו וכך נמשיך לעשות pic.twitter.com/pcTPi7cvXp
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 10, 2018
Netanyahu said that by ordering the attack directed at Iranian forces, he sent a clear message to the Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
“If the Syrian army acts against us, we will act against it,” Netanyahu said. “That’s exactly what happened yesterday.”
Israeli forces said the strike was successful in hitting Iranian sites related to logistics, intelligence and ammunition storage stationed in Syria, as well as destroying several air defense systems.
According to Haaretz, this confrontation is the first time Israel has directly accused Iran of firing toward Israel.
