Israel began airstrikes against alleged military targets inside Iran early Saturday morning. retaliation for ballistic missiles Officials said the assault took place on October 1st. There was no immediate information on casualties in the Islamic Republic.
The attack comes more than a year after weeks of threats by Israel and the Middle East on the brink of regional war. First attack by the militant group Hamas About Israel. Since then, Israel has launched a devastating ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and an invasion of neighboring Lebanon, targeting militants that have long been armed with support from Tehran.
The Israeli military described Saturday’s attack as a “precision strike against Iranian military targets” but did not immediately provide details.
“The Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have relentlessly attacked Israel since October 7, including direct attacks from mainland Iran,” Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a prerecorded video statement. “There is,” he said. “Like any other sovereign state in the world, the State of Israel has corresponding rights and obligations.”
Explosions could be heard in Iran’s capital Tehran, with local state media initially confirming the explosion and saying some of the sounds came from the city’s air defense systems.
A resident of Tehran told The Associated Press that he heard at least seven explosions and his surroundings were rattled. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
After news of the airstrike broke, international flights began diverting around western Iran, according to air tracking data. However, Iranian state television only mentioned it briefly, without providing further details, and in an attempt to downplay the assault, began showing what it said was live footage of men loading trucks at a vegetable market in Tehran. Ta.
Meanwhile, Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing unnamed military officials, said in the early hours of Saturday that Syria’s “barrage of missile fire from the direction of the occupied Golan and Lebanese territory has hit military forces in parts of southern and central Syria.” The facility was targeted.” Syrian air defense forces announced that they had shot down some of the missiles. There was no immediate information on casualties.
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, which began with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Iran has launched two ballistic missile attacks against Israel in recent months. The first attack killed around 1,200 people and captured 250. The hostages return to the seaside enclave.
More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. The United Nations says hundreds of thousands of people are trapped with little food and supplies as Israeli forces close in on the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya, with food and other aid still in short supply in the enclave. announced. Since then, Israeli military operations in the West Bank have killed hundreds more.
Israel also launched a ground invasion and a series of punitive airstrikes into Lebanon, rattling the country.
Saturday’s attack occurred just as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was returning to the United States from a tour of the Middle East. Mr. Blinken and other U.S. officials had warned Israel to take actions that would eliminate rather than further escalate conflicts in the region. Iran’s nuclear facilities.
White House National Security Council Press Secretary Sean Savet said in a statement: “We understand that Israel is conducting targeted attacks against Iranian military targets,” and asked reporters for details of the operation. He instructed them to contact the government.
Two U.S. officials said the United States had received advance notice of the attack from Israel. They said there was no U.S. involvement in the operation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.
Israel had vowed to attack Iran harshly Massive missile barrage by Iran Iran said its barrage was in response to deadly Israeli forces attacks on its proxies in Lebanon; Hezbollah has vowed to respond to any retaliatory attacks.
Israel and Iran have been enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran its biggest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, support for anti-Israel militias and the country’s nuclear program.
Israel and Iran have been locked in a shadow war for years. Iran’s top nuclear scientist has been killed in an alleged assassination by Israel. Iran’s nuclear facilities have been hacked and sabotaged, all due to mysterious attacks blamed on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on ships in the Middle East in recent years, which later escalated into attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships transiting the Red Sea corridor.
But since the October 7 Hamas attack, fighting has increasingly moved into the open. Israel has recently turned its attention to Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets at Israel. war in gaza It has begun. Throughout the year, Israeli military attacks in Syria and Lebanon killed many top Iranian military figures.
Last April, Iran launched a slew of missiles and drones at Israel after two Iranian generals were killed in an airstrike believed to be carried out by Israel on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria. The missiles and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel, under pressure from the West for restraint, responded with limited strikes.
But after the Iranian missile attack in early October, Israel promised a tougher response.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Palestinian health officials announced that Israeli military attacks on residential areas in southern Gaza had killed 38 people, including 13 children from the same extended family.
In northern Gaza, health officials reported that Israeli forces attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few remaining functioning medical facilities in the area. Israel updated its declaration attack on Hamas Support groups have been working in the north in recent weeks. sound the alarm Regarding the dire humanitarian situation.
In Lebanon, Israeli forces attack the country’s southeast killed three journalists work for a news organization that is thought to be sympathetic to hezbollah.
