Defense Minister Naftali Bennett summoned Israel's military and security chiefs to Tel Aviv on Friday morning in the wake of the US airstrike that killed senior Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
As Iranian officials vowed revenge, the government of America's closest ally in the Middle East gave no immediate public response to the deaths of Soleimani and of Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad.
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Army Radio, however, said the IDF had gone on heightened alert, amid fears that Iran could strike through its regional allies, such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah or through Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
Read more:
- Iranian strongman Qassem Soleimani killed in US airstrike in Iraq
- Iran vows 'harsh retaliation' over Soleimani's killing
In Gaza, Hamas – which has long enjoyed financial and military support from Tehran – condemned Soleimani's killing and sent its "dearest condolences" to Iran.
Hamas said Soleimani "had a senior role in supporting Palestinian resistance in all fields."
Bassem Naim, a Hamas official, wrote on Twitter that the assassination "opens the doors of the region to all possibilities, except calm & stability. USA bears the responsibility for that."
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Greece, Bennett called senior commanders together on Friday morning for a "situational assessment," ministry officials said.
IDF Spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Twitter that the Mount Hermon ski resort – on the Golan Heights close to the fortified frontier with Syria – had been closed "following an assessment of the situation."
Adraee added: "There are no further instructions to the residents of the Golan Heights area and routine activities continue as normal."
Israel has long regarded Soleimani as a major threat. In August last year, the IDF said it had foiled a Quds Force attack, administered by Soleimani, involving multiple drones from Syria.
And Israel accused him of leading Quds Force efforts to establish a precision-guided missiles program for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli media commentators said that ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet had been asked not to comment publicly on Soleimani's killing.
Gideon Sa'ar, a senior member of Netanyahu's Likud party, however, tweeted: "God Bless America!"
Another Likud lawmaker, MK Yoav Kisch, wrote on Twitter: "The demise of a villain."
Yair Lapid of the Likud-rival Blue and White party, meanwhile, congratulated US President Donald Trump on Twitter for killing those responsible for "murderous terrorist acts from Damascus to Buenos Aires" and that Soleimani's "blood is forfeit."
