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The Israeli military reportedly said on Monday that it is prepared for several days of fighting or a prolonged campaign against Iran. Framing the renewed exchanges as a continuation of "Operation Lion's Roar" rather than a new conflict, Tel Aviv emphasized that the recent strikes are part of an ongoing theater of operations.
The army counted Monday as Day 42 of the operation following a roughly two-month ceasefire pause that Israel now says Iran broke with its overnight ballistic missile barrages.
The Israeli army said Iran launched 22 ballistic missiles at Israel overnight, and Houthi forces in Yemen fired two additional ballistic missiles at Israel Monday morning.
One of the Houthi missiles was intercepted, and the second failed to reach Israeli territory. Israel said all Iranian missiles were either intercepted or hit open areas.
For the first time, four layers of Israeli air defense were activated simultaneously. Nine additional air defense systems were added to bolster the existing array.
Israeli army's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper three times since Sunday, with joint situation assessments held overnight.
"The Americans were informed and were not surprised, but the offensive action was carried out by Israel," military officials reportedly said, adding that U.S. forces assisted in interceptions but did not participate in strikes on Iran.
Israel conducted three waves of strikes inside Iran in response to the ballistic missile fire.
The first wave struck nine Iranian air defense systems in western and central Iran overnight, divided into two phases. A subsequent wave struck three factories producing components for Iran's ballistic missile system, alongside a petrochemical complex in southwest Iran.
"Our actions are not retaliatory actions," military officials speaking to Israeli public broadcaster KAN said.
"We are at war. The goal is to continue inflicting deep damage on the regime, weakening it and causing maximum damage to its capabilities. We are not starting from zero, we are coming from achievements accumulated in recent months," the officials added.
The Israeli army emphasized it did not view the renewed fighting as a new operation, describing Monday as Day 42 of Operation Lion's Roar following a two-month ceasefire. Officials said the possibility of resumed fighting had been on the table throughout the ceasefire period.
"We said at the beginning of April that the war did not end with the ceasefire," military officials who spoke to KAN said.
During the two-month pause, situation assessments for a return to fighting were repeatedly conducted, with intensive operational discussions held overnight following Iranian missile fire.
The Dahiyeh strike in Beirut was framed as part of the "same message" with officials reportedly saying, "Israel will not allow a new equation where it can be fired upon without responding."
"We decided in advance that we would not allow ourselves to be intimidated and would not allow a new reality to be created in Lebanon," officials cited by the Israeli media said.
The Israeli military officials said Hezbollah had not yet joined the fighting with strikes against Israel, and that Israel was actively working to prevent a linkage between the fronts.
"We are acting to prevent a connection between the arenas, but we are prepared for every scenario," they said.
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