Israel Targets Military and Energy Sites in Possible Retaliation to Iran’s Missile Attack: Report

U.S. officials reportedly believe that Israel has refined its potential targets in response to Iran’s attack earlier this month, focusing on military and energy infrastructure, according to NBC. The Middle East remains tense as Israel continues to confront Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Iran, a key oil producer, has threatened severe retaliation if Israel launches an attack on its territory.

Israel has vowed to respond to the missile strikes Iran launched on October 1, which were carried out in retaliation for Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures. However, according to the NBC report, Israel is not expected to target Iran’s nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, though no final decisions have been made on how or when Israel might act.

There are speculations that Israel’s response could coincide with the ongoing Yom Kippur holiday. The Israeli government has not commented publicly on these reports.

The conflict with Hezbollah, which began a year ago when the group launched rockets into northern Israel at the start of the Gaza war, has escalated significantly. Israel’s military continues to operate in southern Lebanon, aiming to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure. Over the past day, Israel’s air force reportedly struck around 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including terrorist cells and missile launch sites.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced that it had fired rockets at an Israeli military base in southern Haifa. Both sides have suffered casualties, with the Israeli military reporting injuries among its soldiers during combat in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah continuing its rocket strikes deeper into Israel.

The conflict has caused widespread displacement, with more than 1.2 million people forced to flee, according to Lebanon’s government. Over 2,100 people have been killed and 10,000 wounded, including many women and children.

In a recent phone call, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over reports that Israeli forces had fired on U.N. peacekeeping positions in Lebanon, urging Israel to ensure the safety of peacekeepers and the Lebanese military. Five U.N. peacekeepers have been injured in the conflict.

The escalating violence in the region, involving Tehran’s allied militant groups—Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and armed factions in Iraq—has heightened fears of a broader conflict potentially drawing in the U.S. and Iran. Armed groups in Iraq have already claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Israeli military sites in the Golan Heights in solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanon.

The ongoing war in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and about 250 were taken hostage, has resulted in more than 42,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s health ministry, as Israel continues its military campaign to eliminate Hamas.