A select group of seven senior officials from Israel’s National Security Cabinet met regularly over the past year to plan the military operation against Iran that was launched on Friday, according to a source who requested anonymity, the Jerusalem Post reports.
This inner circle included Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yisroel Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Shas leader MK Arye Deri.
These seven officials were the only members of the government who were briefed in advance about the pending assault prior to the full cabinet convening late Thursday. Internally referred to as the “small ministers’ forum,” the group functioned similarly to the limited war cabinet that was established during the early stages of the current conflict, the source explained.
In addition to these cabinet members, a few other figures in Israel’s political leadership were informed about the strike shortly before it was carried out. These included MK Yuli Edelstein, who chairs the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and opposition leader MK Yair Lapid.
Due to the extreme sensitivity surrounding the timing of the operation, several reports indicated that ministers were told to remain in place for several hours after granting final approval to the attack late Thursday night, waiting until the operation officially commenced. During the meeting, cabinet members were required to sign confidentiality agreements.
Netanyahu had initially authorized the operation as far back as November, and it was originally slated to be executed in late April. However, it was postponed due to “a number of reasons,” Netanyahu later said.
Speaking to Channel 12 on Sunday night, National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi added that many commercial flights left Israel ahead of the operation’s launch to minimize the risk of civilian airliners being affected by potential Iranian counterstrikes.
