Israelis are emptying supermarket shelves as they stock up on supplies amid the threat of an attack from Iran.
Earlier this week, two Iranian military leaders were killed after a strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
Iranian leaders vowed that they will take revenge for the attack, which Israel has not denied carrying out.
Now Israel is on high alert for a retaliatory attack.
The IDF said in a statement: “In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF (Israel Defense Forces) combat units. The IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements.”
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Now videos shared online have shown Israelis dashing to supermarkets to panic-buy essentials as they prepare for a possible attack.
Some clips even showed completely empty shelves.
Banks in Israel have also been told to prepare for a surge in cash withdrawals from ATMs.
Israel’s The Central Bank issued recommendations to financial institutions to ensure readiness for such scenarios as this has happened before during security threats.
The Home Front Command of the IDF has tried to calm nerves in Israel, saying there is no need to buy generators or hoard food supplies.
i24 News has reported that supermarkets remain well-stocked despite the sudden surge in demand.
Israeli Prime Minister warned on Thursday that Israel harm those who seek to harm his country.
He said: “Iran has been acting against us for years — directly and via proxies. And, therefore, Israel acts against Iran and its proxies — defensively and offensively.
“We will know how to defend ourselves, and we will act according to the simple principle: that those who harm us or plan to harm us, we will harm.”
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari added in a press statement: “In the past six months, we have been in a multi-front war. We are on heightened alert in all the arenas.
“We are looking at the threats and foiling them all the time, on several fronts, and are at a high level of readiness for defense and offense. We are constantly carrying out assessments, and take seriously any statement and all enemies.
“We have increased our alertness in combat units, bolstered [air] defense systems, and we have planes prepared for defense, and ready for attack.”
