JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has launched a new spy satellite that defense officials described as a strategic cornerstone, saying it will strengthen their surveillance capacity across the Middle East in the years ahead.

Military officials and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the satellite, launched late Tuesday, will enhance Israel’s ability to collect images like the 12,000 gathered over Iran during a 12-day war earlier this year.

“This is also a message to all our enemies, wherever they may be - we are keeping an eye on you at all times and in all situations,” Katz said in a post on X.

In addition to monitoring Iran, Israel gains reconnaissance capabilities in other parts of the Middle East as it conducts what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a “seven-front war,

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