Israeli Defence Minister Warns Iran May Strike During Jewish High Holidays

Prepared for an attack that has not yet come

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned on September 3 that Iran could launch an attack on Israel during the upcoming Jewish high holiday season, which begins with Rosh Hashanah on the evening of September 11. Speaking at a conference hosted by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth in cooperation with the Israel Democracy Institute, Katz said Israeli leaders were monitoring developments continuously.

For now, they are striking throughout the region except us, Katz said, referring to Iran's September 3 attacks on US bases in Kuwait and the UAE. But there is a possibility that they will attack us. We are prepared for that defensively. If Iran attacks, we will respond with great force, independently of anyone else. Our planes are ready to take off.

A pattern of holiday timing

Asked specifically about the possibility of an Iranian attack during the approaching high holidays, Katz said Tehran has previously sought to exploit Jewish festivals. They like to attack on Jewish holidays because they hate Jews, he said. Look at many things that happened in the past. But we are prepared both defensively and offensively, in coordination with the United States in this area.

France 24 reported Katz's remarks alongside coverage of the broader US-Iran escalation, noting that Yom Kippur begins September 20 and Sukkot on September 25. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said separately that an attack by the Iranian regime would be one of their last decisions, telling a yeshiva audience in Sderot that Iran already knows what the significance of an attack against Israel would be.

No restrictions on the IDF response

On September 4, Katz told Defence Ministry employees ahead of Rosh Hashanah that an Iranian attack on Israel would release the IDF from any restrictions, according to Walla. We will destroy all national, military, and civilian infrastructure in Iran, including energy infrastructure, Katz threatened. We will return Iran to the Stone Age.

Katz emphasised that the Iranian regime knows very well why it has recently avoided attacking Israel directly. We attacked them with force, he said. We destroyed their nuclear program, we assassinated former supreme leader Khamenei, and we severely damaged their strategic capabilities. The heavy economic pressure from US sanctions is likely to push the regime to the brink of destruction.

Israel stays on the sidelines — for now

Israel has largely remained outside the latest exchange of strikes between Washington and Tehran, even as Iran targets US positions across Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and the UAE. Katz stressed that Israel would not depend on the United States to retaliate if Iran directly targeted Israeli territory.

The holiday warning reflects a genuine intelligence concern and a political message to a domestic audience preparing for Rosh Hashanah under the shadow of a regional war. Whether Iran chooses to widen the front to include Israel during the high holiday period may depend less on calendar symbolism than on Tehran's calculation of whether it can absorb the Israeli response Katz has promised.