STORY: :: Israel's defense chief vows the retaliation against Iran will be 'deadly, precise' and 'surprising'

:: Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister

:: Released October 9, 2024

"You saw the strikes that Iran launched against us a short time ago. Those strikes were aggressive, but they failed because they weren't accurate."

"Just as we have been doing until now in the war on all other fronts: Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened or how it happened. They will see the results."

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.

Gallant described Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack as a failure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the United States.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.