Jerusalem: Israel’s military has killed about 1,900 Iranian soldiers and commanders since the start of the conflict, military spokesman Effie Defrin said, adding that Israel did not rule out targeting Iran’s newly announced supreme leader.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Defrin also confirmed that a second person was killed earlier on Monday in an Iranian missile attack in Israel, bringing the total death toll from Iranian attacks in the country to 12 civilians, in addition to two soldiers killed in combat with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
According to the Israeli Health Ministry, a total of 2,238 people in Israel have been evacuated to hospitals since the beginning of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with 91 of them still in hospitals.
Defrin said the air force continued its attacks on Monday with strikes in Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran.
Since the beginning of the US-Israeli attack on February 28, Israeli warplanes have struck six military airports in Iran and targeted the Quds Force’s transportation aircraft array, destroying 16 cargo aircraft that, according to Defrin, were used to transport weapons and money to Iran’s allies in the region.
Israeli airstrikes also continued in Beirut, where, according to Defrin, they targeted 35 high-rise buildings used by Hezbollah. More than 700 Hezbollah sites were struck in Lebanon, he said.
He said Israeli attacks would continue “as long as needed,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Asked whether Israel planned to target Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose appointment was announced on Sunday, Defrin said: “Anyone who poses a threat will be struck.”
Earlier on March 9, US President Donald Trump had said that the US-Israeli military strikes against Iran would be over “soon.”
When asked whether the strikes could be over this week at a press conference in Florida, Trump said no. “But soon. Very soon,” he said.
Trump presented what sounded like a contradictory message, declaring that US goals were largely accomplished while supporting US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s earlier warning that the battle is only beginning.
(IANS)
