The Israeli military says Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens are sounding across the country.
Residents were ordered to shelter in place and remain close to bomb shelters.
Israel has warned there would be “repercussions” if Iran attacks.
A file image released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, shows Abu Mahdi naval cruise missiles displayed in a ceremony to deliver the missiles to both national…
Iranian Defense Ministry/AP
The IDF has been battling Hamas in Gaza since the Palestinian group launched a massive multi-faceted attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. A day later, Hezbollah began launching cross-border strikes against Israel and clashes between the two have reached their worst level since their last war in July 2006, sparking fears of an even greater confrontation and potential Iranian intervention.
“Our aerial defense systems are fully prepared, and Israeli Air Force aircraft are currently patrolling the skies,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in video remarks shared with Newsweek. “However, the defense is not hermetic, and therefore, it is essential to continue following the Home Front Command’s instructions.”
“We are at peak readiness on both offense and defense,” he added. “We are on high alert alongside our partners in the United States, our ally, and are closely monitoring developments in Iran.”
The IDF had also announced the evacuation of two dozen Lebanese border communities as the Israeli military conducted “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting on both sides of the border and around a million people have been displaced in Lebanon due to concerns over Israeli strikes and the threat of invasion.
Newsweek has reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations and the White House for comment.
The statement provided by the senior White House official did not provide evidence supporting their intelligence assessment, though an administration official expressed confidence in the conclusion.
Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, has repeatedly threatened to exact revenge against Israel over the unclaimed killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July.
Iranian officials have also warned Israel after a number of other unclaimed operations, including a wave of blasts that affected communications primarily used by Hezbollah in Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing dozens and wounding thousands, including Tehran’s ambassador to Beirut, as well as high-profile assassinations, including that of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah last Friday.
In April, Iran launched an unprecedented direct strike on Israel, which reported a high interception rate backed by its ally, the United States, and a number of other countries, including France and Jordan. Then too, reports of an incoming strike were widely circulated prior to the launch.
In this picture released by the official website of the Iranian Army on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023, the Talaeieh missile system is displayed in an unveiling ceremony at a naval base near the Indian Ocean…
Iranian Army/AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Tuesday statement that Israel is facing “large challenges” as it fights an Iran and its network of regional allies, referred to as the Axis of Resistance. In the videotaped statement, he also urged the public to listen to public safety guidelines from the army’s Home Front Command. He made no direct mention of a missile threat.
Footage shows Israel special forces inside LebanonThe Israeli military has for the first time released video footage showing its special forces troops operating inside Hezbollah tunnels and attacking weapons bases across the border in southern Lebanon.
Listen to IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari as he reveals Hezbollah’s plan to “Conquer the Galilee” and commit another October 7-style massacre: pic.twitter.com/4AdYsoJDLv
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 1, 2024
The footage was taken over the last 12 months, but the covert operations were declassified by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for the first time on Tuesday afternoon just hours after it announced it had launched a “limited, targeted” ground incursion overnight.
IDF footage taken in the past 12 months shows the destruction of Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon. Reuters has reported the head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif as stating on Tuesday morning that no Israeli…
IDF
Mossad HQ targetedHezbollah has claimed it targeted the headquarters of Mossad intelligence agency as a response to Israel’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Reports state the Lebanese militant group fired “Fadi-4” missiles at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, and missed the IDF’s military intelligence unit and Mossad headquarters.
According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service within Israel a road has been blocked after it was hit by a rocket. The ambulance service said it treated two people at the scene including a bus driver who was hit by shrapnel, and another motorist.
Palestinians and civil defense search in the rubble of a house of Hassan al-Makdah, son of Palestinian Fatah and al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Mounir al Makdah, that was flattened in an overnight Israeli air raid…
Marwan Naamani/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Russia condemns attackThe Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s “attack on Lebanon,” and warns against the risk of further escalation in violence across the region.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Kremlin called on Israeli authorities to “immediately cease hostilities, withdraw troops from Lebanese territory and engage in a genuine search for peaceful ways to resolve the Middle East conflict.”
It also said it supported “the leadership and people of friendly Lebanon.”
Ground clashes deniedReuters has reported the head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif as stating on Tuesday morning that no Israeli troops had entered Lebanese territory. In a written statement Afif said Hezbollah had not engaged in “direct ground clashes” with Israeli troops, but that it would be ready to do so.
According to NBC, an unnamed Israeli security official confirmed around the same time as Afif released his statement that Israeli troops are yet to clash with any Hezbollah forces. The official said the troops remained “within walking distance” of the border.
“I can tell you this is not numbers of a large ground invasion,” he is reported to have said. “These local raids we’re doing, are very limited and in scope and in the area of operating. So at the moment, no clashes.”
Lebanon’s caretaker PM appeals for aidCaretaker prime minister Najib Mikati has met with U.N. organizations and ambassadors of donor countries according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
It quotes Mikati as saying “We meet today at a time when Lebanon is facing one of the most dangerous stages in its history, as about one million of our people have been displaced due to the devastating war waged by Israel on Lebanon.”
He continued “we are working diligently in cooperation with the U.N. institutions to secure the basic needs of the displaced Lebanese, as we have done during all the difficult stages that Lebanon has gone through … today, we urgently appeal for more support to enhance our ongoing efforts to provide essential assistance to displaced civilians.”
01 October 2024, Lebanon, Kfar Kila: Israeli shelling targets the southern Lebanese border village of Kfar Kila. Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily
STR-/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Israel declares ground operationThe Israel Defense Forces launched the beginning of a “limited, » …
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