SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Israel has carried out its widely expected attacks on Iran. Overnight, Israel's air force struck what they call Iranian military targets in retaliation for Iran's missile attack on Israel earlier this month. Israeli military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said this comes after more than a year of war fueled by Iran and its proxies.
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DANIEL HAGARI: Like every other sovereign country in the world, the state of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.
SIMON: NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thank you for being with us.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Thanks for having me, Scott.
SIMON: What exactly did Israel target?
ESTRIN: I spoke about this with an official who is briefed on the matter, an official who was not authorized to speak publicly about this but who told me that there were three waves of Israeli strikes on Iran. The first wave of strikes was on Iran's air defenses. The second and third waves were on storage and production sites of ballistic missiles and drones. This official said that Israel's response was designed as a kind of a quid pro quo after Iran carried out its missile strikes on Israel on October 1 and also designed in a way that Iran would be able to contain any reaction. Israel says that its retaliation against Iran is now over. And Iran indeed is signaling that it's downplaying this. Iran's state news agency said Israeli air strikes caused limited damage. It says civilian flights are up and running again in the country. It also said two of its soldiers were killed. So we will have to see if this does draw an Iranian response.
SIMON: We know the U.S. had been sending air defenses and troops to the region in anticipation of the strikes. Was the U.S. involved in the Israeli attacks?
ESTRIN: The U.S. says it was not involved directly in Israel's attacks. But the U.S. had been very much involved behind the scenes, not only sending those air defenses and troops you mentioned, but in the last several weeks, the U.S. has been encouraging Israel very strongly not to hit nuclear facilities or oil facilities in Iran. And, indeed, that's what happened. Israel did not attack nuclear or oil facilities, and the U.S. seems satisfied with Israel's response. A senior U.S. official told reporters that Israel focused solely on military targets and avoided populated areas.
And the U.S.'s main message here is that this should be the end of direct military exchange between Israel and Iran. Israel seems to be suggesting that this could be just the beginning and not the end. The official I spoke with said Israel's attack was designed to send a warning to Iran that Israel's intelligence and its air force are far reaching and would be able to act in the future. And Israel could even be trying to build a case for targeting Iran's nuclear facilities in the future.
SIMON: And, of course, Daniel, Israel is still waging wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Do you foresee those conflicts reaching any kind of resolution soon?
ESTRIN: In Gaza, on the short term, maybe. There is a new U.S. diplomatic push for a hostage and cease-fire deal. There's a new Egyptian proposal on the table for a mini 10-day cease-fire. So we'll have to see how those efforts go. Long term, though, Scott, it's very hard to see Israel ending - in a major final way - ending its operations in Gaza when it doesn't have a clear plan in place for who takes over Gaza after the war ends and as Israel's assault in north Gaza is only intensifying.
On the Lebanon front, the U.S. is pushing for a cease-fire there in the coming weeks, not in the coming months. And remember, in Israel, these wars have been costly for Israel. Just in the last few days, a dozen Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon and in Gaza. Two Israeli civilians were killed recently from rocket fire from Lebanon. So that is also a factor certainly in how Israel calculates how long it can go on fighting.
SIMON: NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks so much.
ESTRIN: You're welcome, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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