‘Whoever hurts us, we hurt them’: Netanyahu gears up for war with Iran vowing to strengthen ‘both defence and attack’ as Russia calls for both sides to show restraint [Video]

Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a stark warning to Iran as he vowed to strengthen Israel‘s ‘defence and attack’ capabilities – telling troops today ‘whoever hurts us, we hurt him’.

Israel’s Prime Minister said that as well as his country being in the midst of the war in Gaza, which he said is ‘continuing in full force’, it is ‘also preparing for scenarios of challenges in other arenas.’

Israel has been bracing for possible Iranian retaliation for the killing of a senior general and six other Iranian officers in an airstrike on an Iranian embassy annex building in Damascus on April 1. 

While it has not claimed responsibility, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday that Israel ‘must be punished and it shall be’ for the attack.

Russia and Germany have now urged countries in the Middle East to show restraint – amid fears that tit-for-tat retaliatory strikes could spiral into a full-scale conflict.