- An alleged Israeli strike on Monday killed two high-ranking Iranian generals, and Tehran is vowing revenge
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday it was pausing all military leave after conducting a situational assessment.
“The IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements,” the IDF wrote in a statement.
Israel is on high alert after the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate building next to Tehran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, earlier this week.
The strike killed a senior Commander overseeing Iranian military activity in Syria and Lebanon, along with another top General and five officers.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge in a speech this week.
“They will also be slapped for these acts,” he said, according to State-run media.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference Thursday that the U.S. would stand by Israel “in the face of these threats” from Iran.
But Israel is also facing intense scrutiny from the U.S. after a strike this week killed seven workers with the humanitarian aid group World Central Kitchen.
President Biden has repeatedly called on Israel to do more to protect civilians and aid workers amid the war with the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Biden had another tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday over the war.
In the call, Biden pushed Netanyahu on reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal with Hamas, which has remained out of reach.
“The prime minister [must] empower his team to the max extent possible to see if we can get this deal in place,” said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby.