JERUSALEM (AP) – Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.
The orange glow of missiles streaked across Israel’s night sky as air raid sirens sounded and millions of residents scrambled into bomb shelters. Israel vowed retaliation for Iran’s missile barrage, which it said had caused only a few injuries.
Iran said it fired the missiles into Israel as retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Iranian military. It referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said 90% of missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.
The broadcast on Iran’s state TV late Tuesday showed footage of missiles being launched in the darkness from unidentified locations in Iran.
Before Iran’s attack, Israel had landed a series of devastating blows in recent weeks against the leadership of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. It then ratcheted up the pressure on the militant group – which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began – by launching what it said is a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return. Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza with Hamas, which is also supported by Iran.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defenses intercepted many of the incoming missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel.
“This strike will have consequences,” he said. He said the attack had caused only “very few” injuries, but did not elaborate.
Israel and Iran have fought a shadow war for years, but rarely have they come into direct conflict.
Iran launched another direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest foe, citing Iran’s repeated calls for Israel’s destruction, its support for Arab militant groups, and its nuclear program. Iran denies Israeli accusations that it is developing a nuclear weapon.
Moments before Iran launched its missiles, a shooting attack in Tel Aviv left six people dead, police said, adding that the two suspects who had opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa neighborhood had also been killed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Iran fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.
“This is totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it,” he said during a meeting Tuesday with the Indian foreign minister at the State Department.
Blinken says initial reports suggest Israel, along with allies including the U.S., “effectively defeated this attack,” underscoring Washington’s “commitment to Israel’s defense.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that U.S. destroyers fired missile interceptors at some of the inbound missiles.
Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences in the event of an attack on Israel from Iran, which backs the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned Iran’s attack on Israel during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Starmer was on the phone with Netanyahu when the barrage of missiles began Tuesday, further escalating the situation in the Middle East.
Associated Press
