ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK: Nearly 200 missiles fired from Iran
Six people murdered in seperate terror shooting attack in Jaffa
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Iran fired nearly 200 missiles into Israel on Tuesday evening in a significant escaltion of the conflict in the Middle East.
Sirens sounded across Israel at around 7.30pm, including in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where loud explosions were heard as at least 180 missiles fired from Iran were identified.
There were reports of some hits in central Israel, the Negev, and the Sharon region, while residents in Tel Aviv and other central parts of Israel took cover in bomb shelters and safe rooms as the attack took place.
An Israeli security official said most of these missiles were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force in cooperation with the US Air Forces Central Command.
Magen David Adom said there are no immediate reports of serious injuries, although some people had suffered shrapnel wounds, and footage showed damage to buildings in Tel Aviv.
It emerged that the UK prime minister Keir Starmer had been speaking on the telephone to Benjamin Netanyahu at the same time as rockets began to be fired into Israel by Iran.
Speaking from Downing Street on Tuesday evening after the attack the PM said:”We stand with Israel, and recognise her right to self defence in the face of this aggression.
“Iran must stop these attacks, together with its proxies like Hezbollah.”
He added:”We support Israel’s reasonable demand for the security of its people”, but refused to immeditely confirm if the UK had joined with the US in shooting down Iranian missiles.
Starmer said further detail would be provided in “due course.”
Defence Secretary John Healey later confirmed:”British forces have this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.
“I want to thank all British personnel involved in the operation for their courage and professionalism.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy added:”I condemn Iran’s attack on Israel in the strongest terms. Today I warned Iran against taking action that could push the region further towards the brink. A cycle of escalation is in no one’s interest.”
Meanwhile six people were murdered in a terror shooting attack in Jaffa, also on Tuesday evening, that left several people seriously injured.
The two terrorists who carried out the attack were later “neutralised,” police add.
Following the Iranian attack, the second following the earlier missile barrage in April, the White House said it represented a “significant escalation” by Tehran.
Unlike in April, Iran had not given any indication it planned to launch the attacks, but the White House had issued a statement in advance saying they had detected evidence of a possible balistic missile incident.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said after the attack:”We will protect the citizens of Israel. This attack will have consequences. We have plans. We will act at the time and place of our choosing.”
A Downing Street spokesperson also said the UK “completely condemns” Iran’s actions.
Starmer spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Jordanian King as the Iranian attack began.
The UK PM expressed the UK’s “steadfast commitment to Israeli security and the proection of civilians”, Downing Street said.
White House national security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that while the U.S. was still assessing the situation, the Iranian attack “appears to have been defeated and ineffective.
“We’ll consult with the Israelis on next steps in terms of response,” he added.
But Sullivan added. “This is a significant escalation by Iran … We’ve made clear there will be severe consequences.”
Sullivan said the administration was tracking the reported death of a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank as a result of the attacks.
Iranian state TV claimed that 80 per of missiles hit their target appeared to be incorrect. The IDF identified that Iran had fired around 180 missiles, some across Jordan and Syria.
As the attack took place the IDF confirmed to its citizens:“A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel.
“The explosions you are hearing are from interceptions or fallen projectiles.”
A spokesperson for Magen David Adom (MDA) says emergency medical technicians and paramedics have been deployed to search “several sites where reports of rocket strikes have been received”.
“Currently, there are no reports of injuries from the fire towards Israel, except for two light injuries from shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area and some minor injuries nationwide while moving to safe spaces, as well as cases of anxiety.”
The IRGC said that the missile attack was a response to Israel’s killing of Hamas and Hezbollah chiefs.
In a statement reported by Iran’s Fars news agency, the IRGC said: “In response to the martyrdom of [the Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh, [the Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah and the Guards commander] Nilforoshan, we targeted the heart of the occupied territories [Israel].”
Hamas also said in a statement:”We congratulate the heroic rocket launch carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran.”
In Jaffa two gunmen fired on Israelis in two locations near the tram station on Gaza Street and Jerusalem Avenue.
Six people were killed and 10 others were wounded in a shooting attack in the city of Jaffa in central Israel on Tuesday, emergency services reported.
Five of those wounded are in serious condition, and a child was lightly wounded.
The two assailants were shot dead by a passerby and a security guard who were in the area, police said, adding that large police and IDF anti-terror unit forces are scanning the area.
An eyewitness who was at the scene of the attack said: “I saw a terrorist shoot a girl who was on the floor and another girl, then I saw the terrorist shoot a man on a bicycle who fell to the floor, but I don’t think he wasn’t hurt. At that moment a civilian arrived with a gun and shot the terrorist.”
The United States had issued a warning of an imminent attack by Iran only hours earlier.
Iran previously barraged Israel with missiles, including ballistic missiles, in April. The United States led a small coalition of nations that came to Israel’s assistance. The combined defense deflected all but one missile in that case, and prevented fatalities. (Many of the missiles launched were drones that took hours to reach Israeli airspace.) Israel later responded with a relatively small bombing raid on Iran.
Anticipating a response from Iran and its proxies to its offensive in Lebanon, Israel announced new protective measures for its citizens until the Rosh Hashanah holiday is over. The two-day holiday begins Wednesday evening.
The US warning came after 10 days of devastation rained on Hezbollah by Israel, including the assassination of the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. On Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah joined Hamas in its war against Israel that was launched a day earlier. Israel has eliminated much of Hezbollah’s leadership in addition to Nasrallah. It has taken out operational centers and on Tuesday the army revealed that ground forces, in Israel’s first ground incursion into Lebanon since 2006, destroyed Hezbollah weapons depots and tunnel systems. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in the strikes.
“The soldiers identified and breached underground access points near the border area, exposed extensive weapon caches, assembly areas for terrorist operative operations, and more,” the army said in a statement.
Hezbollah and its purported prowess acted as a powerful deterrent against any Israeli attempts to undercut Iran’s ambitions in the region or to take out its nuclear weapons program. Iran, seeking to restore the balance of power, has pledged revenge for the killing of Nasrallah and other allied leaders in Hezbollah and Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to achieve enough of a victory in Lebanon to return tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from their homes along the northern border since the war’s launch a year ago. However, he also urged Israelis to abide by safety precautions when they are announced by the government.
“I ask of you two things,” he said in a broadcast. “First, strictly follow the directives of Home Front Command; it saves lives. Second, stand together. Together we will stand steadfastly in the trying days ahead of us. Together we will stand. Together we will fight and together we will win.”
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