Iran launches wave of missiles at Israel
Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, hours after Israeli forces said they launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon.
Sounds of explosions were heard in the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and sirens all over the country have been blaring. During the attack, the Israeli military instructed Israeli citizens to head to protected areas and bomb shelters.
Israel media said more than 200 rockets and missiles were fired from Iran towards Israel, with several directly hitting Israeli cities. An Iranian statement said it sent "tens" of missiles.
Israel's military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, said that the army was not aware of any injuries in the Iranian attack, and said that the attack was serious and would have consequences. He added that Israelis can leave their shelters.
The attack comes several days after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive strike on southern Beirut, and comes amid Israeli cross-border raids into Lebanon.
Israel, Iraq, and Jordan have all closed their airspaces following Iran's strikes.
Pictures and videos show the skies of Tel Aviv being lit up with rocket fire, and videos seem to show some missiles making direct hits with smoke visible.
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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that Tehran launched tens of missiles towards Israel, adding that Israel would again be targeted with strikes if it retaliates.
The IRGC said the missile attack was in response to Israel's killing of Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan in Beirut, as well as Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
"We attacked the heart of occupied lands. If the Zionist regime tries to respond to the Iranian operation, it will face crushing responses," the IRGC said in its statement.
Immediately after the attack, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended a national security briefing.
Biden said he directed the US military to aid Israel's defence against the attacks and shoot down missiles targeting Israel, despite several missiles having already directly hit Israeli cities including Tel Aviv.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had spoken with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant earlier on Tuesday before the Iranian attacks, and the two military leaders spoke of "severe consequences" for Iran if it launched a direct attack on Israel.
So far, the attack has already appeared to have caused more damage to Israel than the previous Iranian attack in April, when hundreds of armed drones were launched in retaliation for the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus.
Most of the drones in that attack were intercepted by Israel, working in tandem with the US, France, and other countries including Jordan.
In this attack, reports have stated that Iranian missiles have been flying over Jordan and some have been intercepted over Jordan.
This is a developing story...