Israeli security agencies have thwarted dozens of plots over the past year, while maintaining heightened vigilance ahead of the Jewish holiday season, a senior National Security Council official told The Jerusalem Post ahead of the High Holy Days.
Iran and Hezbollah are expanding efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews worldwide, with Israeli security officials identifying a growing number of plots and preparations,
Iran has devoted increasing resources to promoting terrorism globally, the official said, including through individuals and newly established mechanisms focused specifically on attacks against Israelis and Jews.
“There are many people who wake up in the morning and their entire mission is to promote attacks against Israelis and Jews around the world,” the official said.
The effort involves multiple parts of Iran’s security apparatus, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and intelligence bodies, the official said. He stressed that the buildup of these capabilities was a long-term process that had intensified over time.
“Even if the rounds of fighting have ended, and we know their limitations, in the end the Iranian feeling is not good in the kinetic balance,” he said. “So they move to their ultimate arena” – efforts to carry out terrorist attacks and target Israelis at various levels.
No country wants terrorism
The official said Israeli strikes inside Iran during the recent fighting had also targeted elements involved in terrorism, including senior figures in Iran’s security establishment.
This, he said, had changed Israel’s operational environment.
“Unlike in the past, given the circumstances, it is possible to act inside Iran itself, particularly in Tehran,” he said, adding that Israel continued to counter Iranian terrorism worldwide, both independently and with foreign partners.
Israeli security agencies have thwarted dozens of terrorist plots over the past year, the official said. Cooperation with foreign governments had also proved critical, including with countries that do not necessarily maintain close political relations with Israel.
“No country wants terrorism on its territory,” he said.
“There is information, warning intelligence, preparations and alerts,” he said. “All these activities together are directed against all the mechanisms, all the organizations and all the countries.”
Israeli authorities had thwarted concrete, “hot” plots during the past year, including cases in which attacks were stopped at the highest levels of warning, the official said.
Some operations were disrupted within hours, while others took days or weeks to halt. Preventing an attack, he added, does not necessarily require striking the terrorist cell itself.
“There are many ways” to disrupt and stop an attack, he said.
The official declined to provide details on specific plots, targets, or prevention methods.
Hezbollah also remained a major concern, particularly because of its close strategic relationship with Iran.
“There is no status quo with Hezbollah,” the official said.
Hezbollah, Iran suffered significant damage
Hezbollah, like Iran, has suffered significant kinetic damage while failing to inflict anything close to the damage it had sought to cause Israel, he said.
“There is a huge gap between what it has absorbed and what it caused us – a gap that is only growing,” the official said.
Hezbollah and Iran should therefore be viewed as partners in the same broader campaign, he added. The Lebanese terrorist organization is now receiving greater attention in Israel’s counterterrorism efforts than in previous years.
The official also identified Africa as an increasingly important arena in efforts to prevent attacks against Israelis and Jews. Several African countries have weaker security mechanisms, while parts of the continent host established Islamist infrastructure, including local extremist networks and foreign elements.
Global jihadist organizations have long maintained infrastructure in parts of Africa, he said, while the Houthis’ position near the Horn of Africa has created an additional potential threat.
The Houthis possess both kinetic and other capabilities that could potentially be used in the region, the official said. Israel is particularly concerned by the group’s attention to Israeli activity in countries in the Horn of Africa, including Somaliland.
The Houthis view Israeli activity there as both a potential threat to their interests and a potential source of future terrorist targets, he said.
Israeli security agencies have increased vigilance ahead of the Jewish holiday season, a period that terrorist organizations have historically sought to exploit because of large gatherings and increased Israeli and Jewish community activity abroad.
The official pointed to previous incidents and attempted attacks around Jewish holidays. With the anniversary of the October 7 massacre also falling during the holiday period, Israeli authorities are maintaining a particularly high level of alert, he said.
