The Israeli Air Force continues its intensive preparations to confront a possible Iranian attack, according to what the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation ("Kan 11") reported this evening, Wednesday, quoting sources in the Israeli army, which raised the state of alert in air defense systems to its highest levels.

The preparations include reaching peak defensive and offensive readiness in the event of a large-scale attack by Iran. In recent days, the Air Force has been conducting “war games” exercises, including scenarios for a long-range attack, similar to the attack carried out in the port of Hodeidah against the Houthis in Yemen last month.

According to "Kan 11", security officials are aware that Iran has more advanced defensive means and radars than the Houthis. The official Israeli channel indicated that "at the beginning of this week, the Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, approved operational plans and targets that the Israeli army might attack."

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday evening that reaching a ceasefire in Gaza could push Iran to refrain from launching an attack on Israel, while the international community is redoubling its efforts to avoid a large-scale conflict in the Middle East, amid rising tensions following the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr.

Iran has rejected Western calls to back down on its threat to retaliate against Israel after Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran, amid fears that the war in the Gaza Strip could spread to the region. Iran has vowed to avenge Haniyeh's killing, which came hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs killed a Hezbollah military commander, Shukr; Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate.

Western diplomatic pressure has been mounting since then in an attempt to spare the Middle East from further escalation. The White House has warned that Iran and its proxies could launch "major attacks" on Israel this week, noting that Israel has similar assessments. In recent days, the United States has sent an aircraft carrier group and a missile submarine to the region in support of Israel.

"We are working simultaneously to remove threats and prepare for all possibilities so that we can launch an attack in the place we decide," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said during a visit to a military base in northern Israel on the border with Lebanon.