Israel is preparing today, Friday, for an attack by Iran or its proxies amid increasing warnings of retaliation for the killing of a senior officer during an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus last week.

Countries including India, France, Poland, and Russia have warned their citizens against traveling to the already tense region due to the ongoing war in Gaza, which has now entered its seventh month. John Kirby, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, stated that the Iranian threat is real and actionable.

The Israeli army stated that it has not issued new instructions to civilians but has asked people to remain vigilant and cautious.

Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement on Friday that the army conducted an assessment of the situation over the past day and approved plans for a range of scenarios following reports and statements regarding an Iranian attack.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not comment on reports of partial evacuations of some Israeli diplomatic missions and strengthening of security measures.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the largest daily in Israel, wrote that "retaliation will come." "For now, the assumption is that it will happen very soon, in the coming days."

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the airstrike that occurred on April 1, which resulted in the death of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zadeh, a senior commander in the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and six other officers while they were attending a meeting at the embassy compound in Damascus.

However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that Israel "must and will be punished" for an operation he described as equivalent to an attack on Iranian territory.

Raz Zimet, a senior researcher at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, said, "It will be extremely difficult for Iran not to respond."

He added, "I still believe that Iran does not want to engage in a direct and wide-ranging military confrontation with Israel, certainly not with the United States, but it has to do something."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Army Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi held meetings on Friday with visiting U.S. Central Command Chief General Michael Kurilla to coordinate a potential response.

Iranian sources and U.S. diplomats, the main protector of Israel, indicated that Tehran has informed Washington that it wishes to avoid escalation and will not act hastily.

However, the risk remains that any response could spiral out of control.

Since Iran considered the attack on the embassy equivalent to an attack on its territory, Zimet stated that a direct attack on Israeli territory by Iran itself, rather than a proxy like Hezbollah in Lebanon, is a real possibility.

Iran has missiles capable of striking Israel directly, and in recent weeks, Israel has bolstered its air defenses, which have intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon.

The Israeli army has mobilized reserve soldiers in preparation for any escalation along its northern borders, where nearly daily gunfire is exchanged with Hezbollah.

Late on Friday, Israel reported that around 40 rocket launches have been detected crossing the border from Lebanon into Israel, with most intercepted and the rest landing in open areas without causing any injuries.

The army has pulled most of its forces and armored vehicles out of Gaza, and ministers stated that this move comes ahead of the long-promised attack on the city of Rafah, where thousands of Hamas fighters are believed to be holed up alongside more than a million Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza.

In Israel, despite the absence of official security instructions, some parents reported that their children were asked to take books home for the Passover holiday in preparation for a potential disruption of classes.