Faced with a similar situation in April, Netanyahu hesitated and allowed Biden to convince him to take a measured response. He can’t risk that again.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel, threatening millions of Israelis, including in and around Tel Aviv. While it’s unclear to what extent the attack caused damage, injuries, or deaths, it is apparent from visual evidence that at least some of the missiles penetrated the air-defense systems.
Given the severity of this attack and the fact that Iran has been pursuing a nuclear-weapons program with promises to wipe Israel off the map, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot allow this to go without a forceful response. There is no time to dawdle. The response should come immediately.
Back in April, when Iran launched a missile attack on Israel, Netanyahu hesitated and ultimately lost momentum for action and allowed President Biden to convince him to “take the win” because the missile and drone attacks were successfully thwarted by the joint air-defense systems of the U.S., Israel, and other partners. Instead of a forceful response, Netanyahu waited days and took the measured approach of a symbolic strike on an Iranian air base that was designed to send a message that Israel could reach deep inside of Iran without causing any real damage.
This clearly did not have sufficient deterrent effects, as Iran felt comfortable carrying out this strike as Israelis were preparing for the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
Biden has consistently said that his support for Israel’s “defense” is ironclad, but what that has meant in practice is that he thinks Israel should just sit back and absorb constant rocket attacks as long as they don’t cause significant casualties and that Israelis shouldn’t respond with offensive force because doing so could risk “escalation.” This is an unacceptable position for a sovereign nation.
Netanyahu’s risk-averse approach to security and decades of hesitance to decapitate Hamas allowed the Iranian proxy to build up its strength to the point where the group was able to pull off the October 7 attacks. He let Biden talk him out of a strong response to the last Iranian attack. He cannot back down from yet again. Instead, he must show the same boldness he has demonstrated in Israel’s recent campaign against Hezbollah.