JERUSALEM
\nThe Israeli military halted leave for all combat units on Thursday amid concerns of a possible escalation in violence after the killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week drew threats of retaliation.
\n\u201cIn accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF (Israel Defence Forces) combat units,\u201d the military said in a statement.
\n\u201cThe IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements,\u201d it said.
\nOn Wednesday, the military said it had drafted reservists to boost aerial defences. Reuters journalists and Tel Aviv residents said on Thursday that GPS services had been disrupted, an apparent measure meant to ward off guided missiles.
\nIran has vowed revenge for the killing of two of its generals along with five military advisers in an airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday.
\nIt was widely believed to be an Israeli attack, one of the most significant yet on Iranian interests in Syria, which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied and which carries the risk of further inflaming the region.
\nSince then, investors have been on edge. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange\u2019s main TA-125 share index (.TA125) fell another 2.2% on Thursday to extend losses this week to around 4%. The shekel was 0.6% weaker versus the dollar at a 3.73 rate and government bond prices were down as much as 0.4%.
\nIsrael has been pressing its war on Hamas for six months, after the Palestinian group led an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, and has also been trading fire almost daily with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
\nUntil now, Iran has avoided directly entering the fray, while supporting allies\u2019 attacks on Israeli and US targets.
\nAmos Yadlin, a former Israeli intelligence chief, said Iran may choose this Friday\u2013the last in the Holy month of Ramazan and Iranian Quds (Jerusalem) Day\u2013to respond to the Damascus strike, either directly or through a proxy.
\n\u201cI will not be surprised if Iran will act tomorrow. Don\u2019t panic. Don\u2019t run to the shelters,\u201d said Yadlin, a Senior Fellow at the Kennedy School\u2019s Belfer Center at Harvard University, citing Israel\u2019s aerial defence systems.
\n\u201cBe tuned for tomorrow and then, depending on the consequences of the attack, it may escalate,\u201d Yadlin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM The Israeli military halted leave for all combat units on Thursday amid concerns of a possible escalation in violence after the killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week drew threats of retaliation. \u201cIn accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF (Israel Defence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-398537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n