Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir all declared on Thursday that Israel would be ready to return to war with Iran at a moment’s notice, following a renewal of hostilities between the Islamic Republic and the United States, which Jerusalem has yet to be drawn back into.

The three spoke at a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots, whom President Isaac Herzog noted in his speech were the first graduating cohort to start and finish the years-long pilot course during a single war.

Zamir, in his remarks, said that the war against Iran was “not over.”

“On the drawing board are new plans,” said Zamir. “Major operations are still expected to lie ahead of us. Be prepared,” he said in brief remarks.

The IDF chief said he decided not to deliver his planned remarks after the lengthy speeches already delivered by Netanyahu, Katz, and Herzog.

“You’ve been through captivity training, which also prepared you for this ceremony,” he quipped to the pilots.

In his planned speech, Zamir had intended to say that hundreds of Israeli Air Force planes have been on standby for “immediate takeoff” in recent weeks, as the military remains on high alert for developments across the Middle East.

“Even at this moment, we are closely monitoring developments in Iran and Lebanon and remain on high alert for immediate action,” the prepared text of the speech read.

Netanyahu’s speech also touched on the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah, with the premier telling the graduating pilots that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon for as long as they need to.

“We will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to guarantee the security of our communities in the north,” he said.

Lebanon is demanding that Israel fulfill its pledge to withdraw from two “pilot........

© The Times of Israel