Iran has launched missiles targeting Israel, the military said Tuesday, following US warnings that an Iranian attack was imminent.
“A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement. It said sirens were sounded across Israel, including in Jerusalem.
The US embassy in Israel called on its staff and their family members to shelter in place amid the warnings.
“As a result of the current security situation, the US embassy has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice,” the embassy said in a statement.
Air raid sirens have sounded, and AFP journalists have reported hearing explosions over Jerusalem.
Earlier on Tuesday, at least seven people were wounded in a shooting in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv, according to emergency responders, in what police said was a suspected “terror” attack.
“At least seven have been wounded at two different sites,” said the head of the Magen David Adom emergency medical service, Eli Bin.
“Paramedics are providing medical treatment to a number of casualties in varying conditions, including unconscious casualties,” the service said in a separate statement.
UPDATE: (11.35 p.m.)
Iran’s state media IRNA reported that a missile attack had been launched on Israel’s commercial hub, Tel Aviv, without elaborating. Iranian media also posted videos that appeared to show missile launches at several sites across the country.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said the missile attack underway against Israel was in response to the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last week as well as that of the Hamas leader.
“In response to the martyrdom of (Hamas leader) Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and (Guards commander) Nilforoshan, we targeted the heart of the occupied territories (Israel),” the Guards said in a statement reported by Iranian news agency Fars.
The IRGC also threatened to carry out “crushing attacks” against Israel if it retaliated to the missile attack. “If the Zionist regime reacts to Iranian operations, it will face crushing attacks,” the IRGC statement read.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden ordered the American military to “aid Israel’s defence” and shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, the White House said.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in next month’s US presidential election, are both monitoring Iran’s attack on Israel from the White House situation room, it said in a statement.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari released a video statement saying “the air defence system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment.”
Soon after, a series of explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem. It was not immediately known if they were interceptions or incoming missiles landing. The explosions near Jerusalem were so loud that windows shook.
Israel has closed its airspace and diverted flights, a spokesman from the airport authority said, as air raid sirens sounded across the country.
Residents were ordered to shelter in place and remain close to bomb shelters. The order was sent to mobile phones and announced on national television. TV stations reported sirens in parts of Jerusalem as well as central Israel. The alerts were sounded after a day of rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon. Israeli authorities also warned that Iran might be preparing a missile attack.
Israel has warned there would be “repercussions” if Iran attacks.
Earlier today, the US said that Iran had been preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel and warned that any such assault would have “severe” consequences for Tehran.
The warning came as Israel said it had launched a ‘ground offensive’ in Lebanon to target the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack.”
The United States and other western allies stepped in to help defend Israel against a combined Iranian missile and drone attack in April, which Tehran launched in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
The US official added: “A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
Iran has said that Nasrallah’s killing would bring about Israel’s “destruction,” though the foreign ministry said Monday that Tehran would not deploy soldiers to confront Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile issued a stark warning to Iran on Monday, saying there was “nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach.”
Netanyahu also said that a future “when Iran is finally free” would “come a lot sooner than people think.”
An attack on Israel by Iran would gravely compound fears of a wider regional conflict that the United States and other world powers have said they want to avoid in the Middle East.
The United States has cautiously backed Israel’s move to dismantle Hezbollah’s ability to attack northern Israel, even as President Joe Biden has called for a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was “tracking events in the Middle East very closely.”
“The United States is committed to Israel’s defense,” Blinken said Tuesday morning while meeting his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita at the State Department.
Washington said Monday that it was boosting its forces in the Middle East by a “few thousand” troops, by bringing in new units while extending others that are already there.
It was also deploying more fighter jets, the Pentagon said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin late Monday offered support to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant for “dismantling attack infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah began low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas, which is also backed by Iran, staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered Israel’s devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.
Cross-border fire from Israel and Hezbollah continued throughout Israel’s war in Gaza.
–Agencies
