By Aryeh Savir/TPS • 20 May, 2020

The IDF “will continue to use a variety of military tools and unique combat methods to hit the enemy,” IDF Chief of Staff Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi stated hours after Israel’s reported cyberattack that shut down a major Iranian port was exposed.

Speaking on Tuesday during the exchange of commanders ceremony at the Home Front Command, Kochavi said that the military “will continue to use a variety of military tools and unique combat methods to hit the enemy. The built-in area where the enemy has settled will not be a barrier against our attack,” seemingly alluding to Israel’s offensive cyber capacities.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Israel was behind the May 9 cyber-attack on Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, the largest in the country, which brought the shipping traffic to an abrupt and inexplicable halt for days, generating backups for miles.

The report quoted experts who said the attack was Israel’s retaliation for the April 24 Iranian attempt to penetrate Israeli computers that control water flow and wastewater treatment, as well as a system that regulates the addition of chlorine and other chemicals. The attack was detected and thwarted by the Israeli defenses.

Kochavi noted that “while we do everything we can to avoid civilian casualties, the enemy makes every effort to harm civilians. Unlike the enemy, we will act both aggressively and with values, and will base our action on intelligence and operational need.”

“Dozens of strikes, even recently, have already demonstrated the superiority of the IDF’s intelligence and firepower,” he added, apparently relating Israel’s Air Force (IAF) strikes in Syria against Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

Israel has significantly stepped up its attacks against Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria in recent weeks.

In general, Iran’s military build-up in Syria remains a red line for Israel. The IAF has carried out thousands of attacks to thwart the Iranian entrenchment in the war-torn country.