Israel is monitoring the escalation of the military confrontation between the United States and Iran, having so far remained outside the circle of direct clashes since the latest ceasefire, but it has expressed readiness to re-engage in fighting 'if the US position' opposing that changes, as the widening scope of attacks in the region threatens a return to the path of 'all-out confrontation.'

For the first time since the renewal of the conflict, Israel launched interceptor missiles on Sunday after it deemed that shrapnel from Iranian missiles fired towards the Jordanian city of Aqaba posed a potential threat to the city of Eilat.

Although Israel has not yet participated in the latest round of escalation and has not been directly targeted by Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Sunday to 'respond forcefully' to any Iranian attack.

Katz said in remarks reported by The Times of Israel that 'if Iran launches missiles at Israel, we will attack it with all our might,' adding that Tel Aviv is 'ready to take defensive and offensive actions if the US position changes.'

In turn, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that 'the army is closely monitoring developments in Iran and maintaining a high level of readiness,' adding: 'We are ready to resume fighting immediately, and we will act with great force against anyone who attacks us.'

The United States had fought the war against Iran alongside Israel in late February, amid military coordination between the two countries.

However, this war, as it continued, revealed a growing divergence between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to manage military operations, and even over the wisdom of continuing them.

This disagreement came to the fore last month when Israel and Iran exchanged attacks for the first time since the April truce, as Trump called Netanyahu and demanded he de-escalate, arguing that the United States was close to reaching an agreement with Iran, according to The New York Times on Sunday, citing officials familiar with the call.

Despite Israel's opposition, Trump subsequently signed a 'memorandum of understanding' with Iran to halt the fighting and begin negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, but the ceasefire did not last long before Washington and Tehran resumed exchanging strikes. Since the truce collapsed, Iran has not launched direct attacks on Israel.

Netanyahu had warned last week that Israel would inflict 'massive damage' on Iran if it came under attack.

Speaking at a conference in southern Israel, he said: 'I say to Iran's leaders, do not bet that the calm will continue if you attack us,' adding that the Israeli response would be 'much stronger' than it was during the war earlier this year.

Netanyahu's motives for resuming the war

According to The New York Times, Netanyahu has political and personal motives for resuming the war, with general elections scheduled for October approaching.

The Israeli prime minister faces domestic pressures, as many Israelis consider the war's results to be limited or even disappointing, at a time when declared goals, such as eliminating Iran's nuclear program or creating conditions for toppling the Iranian regime, have not been achieved.

According to the American newspaper, the Iranian leadership emerged from the war 'still holding its grip on power,' while its nuclear program and ballistic missile system withstood US and Israeli strikes, and the agreement Washington negotiated did not address Tehran's support for its allied groups in the region, such as Lebanese Hezbollah.

In contrast, Netanyahu faces a complex equation of maintaining his relationship with the US president, who has come to view the war as a growing political burden with no clear exit, as Israel's resumption of the war without Washington's approval could jeopardize its ties with its most important ally.

Israel's public broadcaster quoted two security officials, one Israeli and one American, as saying that the United States informed Israel of its intention to escalate its attacks on Iran in the coming days, while preferring at this stage to keep Israel out of the current escalation.

According to the officials, Washington and Tel Aviv discussed, as part of their consultations, the possibility that Iran might 'break the rules of engagement' by targeting Israel, which could necessitate an Israeli response inside Iran. However, the United States does not want Israel to become involved in the escalation.

Additional US military deployments in Israel

In recent hours, the United States transported additional equipment and munitions to Israel intended for US fighter jets, as part of preemptive arrangements. Aerial refueling aircraft also arrived in Israel.

An Israeli military official told Reuters on Sunday that Tel Aviv is preparing to receive more US refueling aircraft.

The official added that the United States decided to adjust its force posture in the region and reinforce the fleet of refueling aircraft already in Israel with additional planes.

Another senior Israeli official said that dozens of US refueling aircraft are expected to arrive in Israel.

The New York Times quoted US officials as saying that the United States has begun sending more warplanes to the region. The reinforcements include F-16 fighters from the US Air Force coming from Germany, and F-35 stealth fighters coming from Britain, in addition to other aerial refueling aircraft.

The New York Times reported that the orders for the redeployment of aircraft were issued before the Iranian attack that targeted US forces in Jordan on Friday, killing two US Army soldiers, with a third service member missing and others wounded.

Since the outbreak of the conflict with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, the United States has deployed dozens of refueling aircraft in Israel.

The Israeli military official, in his remarks to Reuters, pointed out that the United States chose to deploy some aircraft at Israeli Air Force bases, alongside commercial airports, in order to minimize disruption to civil aviation and based on operational and logistical considerations.

Axios had reported, citing US and Israeli officials, that the Trump administration informed Israel that it would send dozens of additional aircraft ahead of a possible expansion of military operations against Iran.

In May, an official with the Israel Airports Authority said that about 70% of activity at Ben Gurion Airport was affected due to the space and resources occupied by US military activities.

According to a spokesperson for Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev, the United States has since agreed to move some aircraft to military bases, while the number of US military aircraft in Israel reached 98 as of June 25.