Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran will “pay”, after Iran fired around 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday
Most of the missiles were intercepted – one Palestinian was killed in the West Bank, and a school in central Israel and restaurant in Tel Aviv were hit.
Iran said the barrage was in response to Israel’s “aggressive acts”, including the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Israel says it’s sending “additional forces” to its ground operation inside Lebanon, which began earlier this week, and has told more villages to evacuate
Hezbollah says it repelled an Israeli ground attack in Lebanon on Wednesday, and it has continued firing rockets at Israel
Iran had on Tuesday launched a missile attack on Israel – the Israeli military says around 180 missiles were fired, most of which were intercepted.
No injuries have been reported so far and Israeli authorities say civilians can leave bomb shelters. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says “this attack will have consequences”
Israeli troops have invaded Lebanon, in what the Israeli military calls a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah
On Tuesday morning, an Israeli security official told the BBC there had been “no clashes” yet – but a military spokesman later told people in around 25 Lebanese villages to evacuate
The Lebanese prime minister says his country is facing “one of its most dangerous phases”, and that one million people are displaced.
The White House says it’s not aware of any deaths in Israel following strikes by Iran, but adds that this is a fluid situation so numbers and details could change.
During a press briefing, National Security spokesperson Jake Sullivan describes the strikes by Iran as a “significant escalation” and says it appears to have been “defeated and ineffective” without any known damage to Israeli aircraft and strategic military assets.
He says Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel and US naval destroyers helped Israel shoot them down.
(The IDF earlier said 180 missiles had been launched from Iran towards Israel.)
President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored events from the Situation Room and they are following developments in the Middle East “minute by minute”, Sullivan continues.
Sullivan says the US will consult with Israel on next steps and is particularly focused on protecting service members in the region. He also mentions that the US has not triggered emergency evacuations for its citizens there.
Sullivan refuses to comment on questions about any retaliation from Israel or the US.
The EU condemned Iran’s missile strike on Israel in the “strongest terms”, says European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell.
In a post on X, he adds: “The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks to spiralling out of control. An immediate ceasefire across the region is needed.”
