Israel's air defences, including its anti-missile batteries, were on the highest level of alert yesterday, while the Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, issued a veiled threat of retaliation, saying that if the Jewish state was attacked by Saddam Hussein as a result of the US war on Iraq, "it will know how to defend itself."
Mr Sharon, speaking at a memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers, said he believed Israel would "not be part of this war," but that if it was dragged in, it was "prepared for all possibilities, those in the sphere of defence and those in the sphere of attack."
The Americans, however, are extremely anxious to keep Israel out of the war in order to safeguard their brittle coalition. There were reports yesterday that messages passed to Jerusalem indicated that special US forces were operating in western Iraq in an effort to thwart the firing of Scud missiles at Israel.
Senior Israeli officials said Mr. Sharon - as promised - had received prior warning yesterday of the US intention to launch its strike. They said US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell had called the Prime Minister 90 minutes before the first salvo of cruise missiles thudded into Baghdad in the early hours of yesterday morning.
At an air force base where the army has stationed its Arrow anti-missile batteries, the commander of Israel's anti-aircraft forces, Brig Gen Yair Dori, said his troops were "on the highest level of alert." Israel's two-tier anti-missile defence is based on the higher-flying, multi-billion dollar Arrow system, which was developed with the US after the first Gulf War, and the more low-flying, but upgraded Patriot missiles.
While schools in Israel were open yesterday, and students went to class with their gas mask kits slung over their shoulders, turnout was lower than usual, especially in areas hit by Scud missiles in 1991. In the Greater Tel Aviv area, only 50 per cent of students turned up, with many parents preferring to keep their children at home.
Air France, meanwhile, yesterday announced it was ceasing all flights to Israel. Until yesterday, British Airways had been the only airline to cancel its flights to Ben Gurion Airport.
In the West Bank and Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians joined pro-Iraq rallies, carrying pictures of Saddam Hussein and waving Iraqi flags.
Palestinians also continued to express the fear, however, that Israel would exploit the attack on Iraq to implement even harsher measures against them.