Last night Iran launched a major missile strike that targeted sites across Israel, while Israel’s air defences attempted to shoot down the incoming fire.
Air raid sirens wailed and loud booms were heard in Tel Aviv and throughout the country.
President Biden directed the U.S. military to shoot down the missiles targeting Israel, helping Israel defend against Iranian attacks, the White House told reporters.
The Iranian strikes come in the wake of an escalating Israeli campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including a ground campaign launched on Monday. Israel is attempting to greatly weaken the group, which has been trained and armed by Iran for four decades.
Iran claimed the missile attack was in response to the assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
In a statement on the social media platform Telegram, released shortly after the Iranian airstrikes began, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it focused on “important military targets” in Israel with dozens of missiles. The statement said that if Israel responds, “it will face violent attacks.”
The U.S Embassy in Jerusalem directed government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice.
Israeli civilians took to bomb shelters nationwide before and during the strike. But a short while later, Israelis received an official notice saying they could come out of the shelters. Meanwhile, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have been put under tight restrictions including new limits on gatherings in any urban centres.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on 8 October 2023, one day after Hamas launched a major attack into southern Israel. Hezbollah describes its effort as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. This attack occurred before the events of the 7 October had ended.
[Photo: Screenshot/NDTV]