Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to harm those who hurt his country, in a veiled warning to Tehran.

“For years, Iran has been acting against us both directly and via its proxies; therefore, Israel is acting against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said.

“We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle of whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them,” he added.

Tensions between the two countries have been inflamed by Monday’s strike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed 16 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel has declined to comment on the strike but analysts saw it as an escalation of Israel’s campaign against Iran’s regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war.

Israel’s army announced a leave suspension and also said that, after an assessment, officials decided to increase manpower and draft reserve soldiers to operate air defenses.

Armed forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed the jamming of GPS signals, which is intended to defend against guided weapons like missiles or drones.

“We strengthened the alertness of combat units, where needed,” Rear Admiral Hagari said.

“We have reinforced the defense systems and we have aircraft prepared for defense and ready to attack in a variety of scenarios.”

As Israel has fought in Gaza since the Hamas attack of 7 October, it has also stepped up strikes against Iranian personnel and allies in Syria and Lebanon.