Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
Then chief of the IDF Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, attends the Israel Hayom security conference in Jerusalem, Dec. 1, 2024
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces had an alternative “shadow command” standing by during the 12-day war with Iran to ensure operational continuity if a counter-attack from Tehran took out the military’s command structure.
The “Shadow General Staff,” headed by Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai and staffed by generals in the reserves, was updated regarding the IDF attack plans and moved to a secret location ahead of the June 13 opening strike on Iran’s nuclear program, Hebrew media reported on Monday.
The shadow team, which was disconnected from the IDF’s regular communication infrastructure to prevent cyberattacks and physical intrusions of its base, was meant to be activated only in case of a complete loss of command, a scenario that did not materialize.
Ynet noted that some of the ballistic missiles and drones launched by the Islamic Republic over the course of the conflict targeted the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. In one instance, a projectile hit close to the nearby Da Vinci Towers and the Azrieli Center shopping mall.
According to a report in the British Telegraph on Saturday, Iran’s ballistic missiles scored direct hits on five other military facilities in Israel.
Jerusalem’s opening strikes in Iran wiped out the country’s top military command, including the chief of staff of Tehran’s army, with additional senior military officials killed during the subsequent 12 days of fighting.
Israel’s Channel 12 News channel reported last week that the Iranian regime had come “very close” to assassinating Defense Minister Israel Katz with the help of two Jewish Israelis who were arrested in April on suspicion of security-related offenses committed on Tehran’s behalf.
Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition Blue and White Party and a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff, told JNS on Monday that Israel cannot permit the possibility of a penetration or invasion of its borders by Iran and its terrorist proxies.
“We have the intention and the means to stop such events from happening,” he declared, speaking at a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Tehran “has to face the fact that another threshold was crossed, and if it operates against the State of Israel, Israel will know how to defend itself,” said the opposition member, adding, “And the Iranians definitely felt this.”
Yisrael Beiteinu Party leader Avigdor Liberman warned that the Islamic Republic “doesn’t stop for a moment” with its threats against Jerusalem.
“Everything they’re doing right now — talking, breathing — is about revenge,” Liberman told JNS. “They’re working at full throttle on rebuilding the nuclear program and also the ballistic missile program,” he said, stressing, “There’s no other issue in Iran besides revenge operations, including on Israel’s borders.
“This isn’t the end of the war. Everything happening with Iran is just a ceasefire,” the opposition politician warned.
