Iran launches missile attack on Israel, seven dead in mass shooting

Sirens blared across the nation as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) urged citizens to hide in bomb shelters.

After about an hour, the IDF announced there was no longer a threat and “it was decided that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country”.

They said a “large number” of the 180 missiles fired at Israel by Iran had been intercepted.Explosions were heard all over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, while rescuers said two people suffered minor injuries from shrapnel in central Israel.

A Palestinian in the occupied West Bank was also reportedly killed by falling shrapnel from an Iranian missile.

Iran later claimed they targeted “three military bases” in the Tel Aviv area during the attack.

Just minutes before rockets lit up the sky, two gunmen opened fire on a train in Jaffa, central Israel, killing at least seven people in a mass shooting.

Stay tuned for updates as this fast-moving situation progresses.

Israel vows to hit back

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari warned that the Israeli Air Force would “strike powerfully in the Middle East” .

“The Israeli and US air defense systems operated effectively. There was close cooperation in detection and interception,” he said.

“Iran carried out a serious act tonight and is pushing the Middle East to an escalation.

“Tonight’s event will have consequences.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to carry out “crushing attacks” against arch-foe Israel if it retaliated to the missile barrage.

The IRGC said the missile barrage was “in accordance with the United Nations Charter”.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian also fired a warning shot at Israel, describing the attack as a “decisive response” to what he called Israeli “aggression”.

“Iran is not a war-monger but will firmly stand against any threat,” he said, claiming the attack was just a “glimpse” of Iran’s military capabilities.‘Ineffective’: America weighs in

The United States said Tuesday that Iran must suffer “consequences” for the strike.

“Of course, there must be consequences for Iran for this attack,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

“I’m not going to get into what those consequences are today, but there are things on which we will be coordinating with our Israeli counterparts.”

Mr Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, described the missile attack as “ineffective”.

“Obviously, this is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel,” Mr Sullivan said.

The White House official would not say what consequences Tehran could expect to face, saying it would discuss “next steps” with Israel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said separately that Iran’s missile attack was “unacceptable” and that the world should condemn it.

“Initial reports suggest that Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack,” Mr Blinken told reporters.

‘Terror attack’ in Tel Aviv

Moments before the missile attack, terrorists opened fire in the central Israeli city of Jaffa.

“Six civilians were killed in a stabbing and shooting terror attack and nine civilians were injured with varying degrees of injury according to medical sources,” police said in a statement.

The death toll has now been revised to seven, after a wounded person died from their injuries, Israeli authorities said.

The ordeal began when two gunmen attacked passengers on the city’s light rail network.

The pair then fled on foot before being “neutralised” by police and citizens present using personal firearms, the statement said.

Surveillance footage captured the men brandishing rifles as they emerged from the train, while the bodies of blood-soaked victims were strewn on the ground nearby.

Police are treating the train station incident as a suspected terror attack.

Paramedics were still on the scene treating the wounded – including two people who were unconscious and in a critical condition, the ambulance service said.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Meanwhile, police were also investigating concerns of another terror-related incident at a hotel in the Herzliya section of the city.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the two incidents were connected.

‘Crushing attacks’: Iran doubles down

It was Iran’s second on Israel after a missile and drone attack in April in response to a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”, adding in a statement: “This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”

Israeli airspace was closed with all flights diverted, a spokesman for the airport authority said.

Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, which lie between Iran and Israel, closed their airspace too.

As the missiles made their way to Israel from the east, blasts were heard over the Jordanian capital Amman, as Israel’s allies moved to intercept them, an AFP correspondent said.

Jordan said its air defences responded to missiles and drones.

US President Joe Biden ordered the military to “aid Israel’s defence” and shoot down Iranian missiles, the White House said.

Attack came after Israeli soldiers entered Lebanon

The missile attack came after Israeli soldiers entered Lebanon in a major escalation of events which global leaders fear could lead to a wider war in the Middle East.

The Israeli military said “intense fighting” was taking place and has warned people living in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes.

Hezbollah, the political and paramilitary group which effectively runs swathes of the country, has said it “is ready” to defend its territory, launching missiles at Israel.

Israel says it prevented another October 7 style attack

The IDF earlier revealed that it has been engaging in covert operations in Lebanon for the past 12 months and has been working to prevent another “October 7 style attack”.

The Israeli army said it discovered secret tunnels as part of these operations and dismantled Hezbollah weapons.

“The troops also uncovered and destroyed underground infrastructure, struck thousands of targets and hundreds of weapons storage facilities, tons of explosives, and hundreds of living areas for operatives, command centres and more,” an IDF statement revealed..

Ixsrael warns Lebanese civilians to evacuate ‘immediately’

Israel has warned people still residing in areas around southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes.

The Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee reeled off a list of around 25 villages that are expected to be affected during this week’s escalation.

“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately,” he said on Tuesday.

“Any home used by Hezbollah for its military needs is expected to be targeted.”

Civilians have been told to “immediately head to the north of the Awali River” and await instructions on when it will be safe to return home.

Photos continue to stream in of the destruction on both sides of the border. On Tuesday, Israeli personnel were deployed to inspect missile strikes on their side of the border, with one landing in the middle of a highway.

Hezbollah also claimed it launched “Fadi-4” rockets at the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s key intelligence service, in Tel Aviv.

- With AFP