Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that American military aircraft used Israeli bases during U.S. strikes on Iran. He also reiterated that Israel is ready to retaliate if its territory comes under attack.

Hostilities between the United States and Iran have been paused since Friday after 13 nights of U.S. strikes on the Islamic Republic. This followed the collapse of a ceasefire agreement reached in April.

Israel did not take a direct part in the latest phase of the hostilities, which began in late February with a series of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

“The fact is that at the moment — although this could change within an hour — the Iranians are shelling everything in the region except one country: the State of Israel,” Katz said in an interview with Channel 14.

“They know that American planes are taking off from here to carry out strikes,” the minister added.

According to Katz, this does not mean the situation cannot change in the near future, but Israel has already determined its response to any possible attacks.

“This does not mean that we know what will happen tomorrow. It means that we know what our response will be. I have said this, the prime minister has said this, and we have made it absolutely clear: if Israel comes under fire, we will strike back with all our might,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching a peace agreement with Iran. At the same time, the sides observed the ceasefire for a third consecutive day.