Israel pledged to strike Wednesday after Iran fired a volley of missiles at its land, with Tehran threatening it would target “all infrastructure” in Israel if attacked.
After the attack late Tuesday, in which most of the missiles were intercepted, Israel threatened to make Iran “pay” and promised to hit “the Middle East powerfully” right once.
Following the missile attack, President Joe Biden stated that the US is “fully supportive” of Israel and that he will negotiate a reaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When reporters asked Biden what his answer would be to Iran, he said, “That is currently being discussed.”
After Iran launched the missiles, sirens rang across Israel, with the majority of them intercepted by Israeli or ally air forces.
Iranian state media said that 200 missiles, including hypersonic weaponry, were fired against Israel for the first time, with the Revolutionary Guards claiming to have targeted “three military bases” near Tel Aviv and others abroad.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on social networking site X that Tehran’s “action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation”.
The Revolutionary Guards said the strike was in reprisal to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran bombing, both of which were widely blamed on Israel.
Israeli doctors stated that two people were lightly injured by shrapnel. According to the city’s governor, Hussein Hamayel, a Palestinian was murdered in Jericho “when pieces of a rocket fell from the sky and hit him”.
Iran launched its second direct attack on Israel, following a missile and drone attack in April in reaction to a fatal Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
‘Severe consequences’
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slammed an “outrageous act of aggression” by Iran, while Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters there would be “severe consequences”.
Netanyahu said: “Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it.”
Iran responded by threatening to shoot “with greater intensity” if its land is assaulted, with Major General Mohammad Bagheri saying that Tehran will target “all infrastructure” in Israel.
Following the missile bombardment, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari promised to strike against Iran.
The air force “will continue to strike (tonight) in the Middle East powerfully,” he warned.
The military later stated that it was bombing Hezbollah targets in Beirut, with a Lebanese security source told AFP that Israel had struck the city’s southern suburbs at least five times overnight.
AFP imagery showed black smoke billowing over southern Beirut on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, sirens blared across northern Israel, warning of approaching fire, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres led worldwide appeals to halt the “broadening crisis in the Middle East,” stating in a statement, “This must end. We really need a cease-fire.”
While Iran-backed groups across the region had already been sucked into the Gaza conflict, which was triggered by Palestinian group Hamas’ October 7 onslaught on Israel, Tehran has mainly abstained from direct attacks on its regional adversary.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that his country exercised its “legitimate rights” and responded decisively to the Zionist regime’s attacks.
Israel, Iraq, and Jordan, which are located between Iran and Israel, restricted their airspace, as did Lebanon before reopening.
US boosts forces
The escalation came after the Israeli military said early Tuesday that troops had started “targeted ground raids” in south Lebanon, across Israel’s northern border.
The move came despite growing calls for de-escalation after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry said later that the latest Israeli strikes had killed a further 55 people on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s disaster management agency said 1,873 people had been killed since Israel and Hezbollah began trading cross-border fire after the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023.
Iran has said Nasrallah’s killing would bring about Israel’s “destruction”, though its foreign ministry said Monday that Tehran would not deploy any troops to confront Israel.
The Pentagon said Washington was boosting its forces in the Middle East by a “few thousand” troops.
Deadly strikes on Gaza
In Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping mission said the Israeli offensive did not amount to a “ground incursion” and Hezbollah denied that any troops had crossed the border.
There was no way to immediately verify the claims, which came as Israel struck south Beirut, Damascus and Gaza.
Israel says it seeks to dismantle Hezbollah’s military capabilities and restore security to northern Israel, where tens of thousands have been displaced by nearly a year of cross-border fire.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, which suffered heavy losses in a spate of attacks last month, said it targeted Israeli military bases on Tuesday.
In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli bombings killed 19 people on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said troops opened fire Tuesday on “dozens” of Palestinians in central Gaza they saw as an “immediate threat”. At least some were hit, it added.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,638 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.
‘Lost my home’
Hezbollah began low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza.
The escalating violence in Lebanon has killed more than 1,000 people since September 17, Health Minister Firass Abiad said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said there could be as many as one million people displaced from their homes in the country, with authorities registering almost 240,000 crossings into Syria since September 23.
In central Beirut, Youssef Amir, displaced from southern Lebanon, said: “I have lost my home and relatives in this war, but all of that is a sacrifice for Lebanon, for Hezbollah”.
Beirut resident Elie Jabour, 27, told AFP that despite opposing Hezbollah “politically… I support them defending the border”.