The Israeli government has announced that it was cancelling leave for soldiers serving with combat units. It has also blocked GPS in order to disrupt missiles and drones launched from neighbouring countries.
This comes as tensions are on the rise with Iran following an Israeli strike on its consulate building in Syria killed 13 people, including a senior general. The Israeli government has not commented on the attack.
The government announcement comes a day after reservists were called up to bolster air defence units.
Officials in Israel believe that an Iranian response is imminent and is likely to come soon.
The reason for suspending GPS is a measure designed to interfere with weapons which rely on it to set their location. Citizens in Tel Aviv have complained that they have been unable to use location-based app services in major cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
According to news reports, IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari has said that the country is using GPS blocking and urged residents to manually set their location on the app which issues alerts about incoming rocket attacks to ensure it remains accurate amid the GPS interference.
GPS is already disrupted in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, where Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily for the last six months.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promised revenge for the attack that killed senior military officers.
“The evil Zionist regime will be punished at the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and the other ones,” Khamenei said in a message published on his official website.
Among the 13 people killed in the strike were seven officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including senior general Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy.
Analysts have suggested that this may lead to significantly increasing violence in the region with Iranian forces letting loose their proxies in Iraq and Syria.
