JERUSALEM, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz on Thursday revealed a new deterrence policy towards attacks on Israelis or Jews worldwide, which specifically warned Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran.
Gantz announced the army's new policy during a conference at an army base near Tel Aviv, the IDF Spokesman's office told Xinhua Thursday evening.
"The IDF will respond to any attacks from now on by firing against Hamas in response to any bombings from Gaza, against Hezbollah if any rockets are fired from the south of Lebanon, and any attack perpetrated by Iran on Israeli or Jewish interests abroad, will be met with an attack on Iran," Gantz said.
On Thursday morning two grad rockets fired from the Sinai Peninsula hit Israel's southern port city of Eilat, though there were no injuries.
Israel's security establishment has voiced concerns over the increasing lawlessness in the Sinai since former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's ouster early last year. A senior Home Front Command officer said Thursday that the army is considering connecting Eilat to a rocket early warning system currently active in other southern Israeli cities.
"Anyone who tries to test us, domestically or overseas, will find a sophisticated army ready to defend Israel and subdue its enemies," Gantz said at the conference.
Also on Thursday, IDF Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi revealed that militants are gaining strength in the Sinai, and anticipated growing instability in the region, in light of the recent attacks from the peninsula.
Kohavi, speaking at a military graduation ceremony, stressed that the rocket attack on Eilat from the Sinai and recent shooting attacks were examples of the growing risks for Israel, local Ynet news service reported.
"The Middle East, which has the highest pace of armament in the world, is changing its ultimate character beyond recognition. The winds of change may be carrying opportunity and a new message, but in the short and medium terms the risks are increasing," Kohavi said.
"Terror organizations are continuing to strengthen their hold ( on Sinai). We will have to prepare for the security-related instability that will characterize this sector in the coming years, " he said.
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