Tensions in the Middle East continue to grow after Iran fired some 200 ballistic missiles into Israel on Tuesday.
It comes after the Israeli military launched what it is calling a "limited" ground operation in Lebanon to combat the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. In previous days, Israel had also killed the terrorist organization's leader Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan.
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But as the threat of a larger regional conflict looms, the developments leave many wondering what could come next. Dov Wilker, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, told Scripps News that Israel has "every right" to defend itself from what he described as a "confrontation with Iran" from multiple different angles.
"The first thing is that Israel is undergoing a very intensive operation in Lebanon and that's against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy. I want you to remember that Hamas is also an Iranian proxy, as well as the Houthis in Yemen are an Iranian proxy," said Wilker. "So what Israel is facing is, in fact, a confrontation with Iran — not just from Iran shooting intercontinental ballistic missiles, but also along all of its borders."
Following the latest attack, Iran warned that any further retaliation from Israel would prompt a "subsequent and crushing response." Israeli officials, meanwhile, claim they do plan to carry out a response — something Wilker claims Israel has the right to do.
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"Israel has been at war since Hamas carried out the October 7th massacre, and on Monday we will be commemorating the one-year anniversary of that, and there are still 101 hostages being held captive in Gaza," said Wilker. "So for Iran to say that this is their action, well Israel will continue to do everything it can to protect its citizens and to work to bring home the hostages."
"We should not forget that Hezbollah decided to enter a war with Israel — that since October 8th, they have fired over 8,000 rockets against Israeli civilians," Wilker added. "In fact, 85,000 Israeli civilians are currently displaced from the northern part of Israel, sovereign Israeli territory where Israeli citizens can no longer live because of the threat of Hezbollah ... so Israel has every responsibility to ensure that its citizens can return home and that they can live in peace with Lebanon."
You can watch Scripps News' full interview with American Jewish Committee regional director Dov Wilker in the video player above.
