Iran has fired a series of missiles at Israel in what appeared to be the latest escalation as Israeli forces battle the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
“A short time ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “You are asked to remain vigilant and follow the Home Front Command’s instructions precisely.”
Hagari urged citizens to follow urgent “life-saving instructions” issued by the Home Front Command via text message and to head for a protected space immediately.
“The air defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment,” Hagari said. “However, the defense is not hermetic, and therefore it is essential to follow the Home Front Command’s instructions. You may hear explosions, which could be the result of interceptions or impacts.”
The IDF then reported that “sirens sounded all across Israel” as videos circulated online of Israeli interceptors firing into the skies of Israel. In a follow-up statement shared with Newsweek, the IDF said that “all Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as rockets from Iran are fired at Israel,” accompanied by a map of red alerts nationwide.
The attack was later confirmed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which said the attack launched in “self-defense” over the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and in response to “the intensification of the regime’s evils with the support of the United States” in conducting attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, where Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was slain on Friday in a strike that also killed IRGC Major General Abbas Nilforushan.
A banner depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei next to a ballistic missile in Tehran, Iran, on September 26.
HOSSEIN BERIS/AFP/Getty Images
The United States had earlier warned that Iran was “imminently” preparing a ballistic missile launch against Israel. The IDF warned of “repercussions” should Iran go through with the attack.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had also issued an urgent warning to U.S. nationals in Israel and reports surfaced of a shooting attack in Tel Aviv prior to news of the Iranian launches.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant “to discuss the threat of an imminent Iranian attack against Israel.”
“The Secretary shared that over recent days the United States has increased force readiness and continues to maintain significant military capability in the region,” according to a Pentagon readout. “Secretary Austin made it clear that the United States is well-postured to defend U.S. personnel, allies, and partners in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations and is determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict in the region.”
“The Secretary and Minister Gallant discussed the severe consequences for Iran in the event Iran chooses to launch a direct military attack against Israel,” the readout added.
The White House also issued a statement saying that U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “are monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team,” and that Biden has “directed the U.S. military to aid Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel.”
Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, has vowed to take revenge on Israel over Haniyeh’s killing in late July. Iranian officials have also increasingly condemned Israel and hinted at upcoming action amid other attacks and high-profile assassinations, including the slaying of Nasrallah and Nilforushan in a series of IDF airstrikes in southern Beirut last Friday.
On Monday, the IDF announced it had begun “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Earlier that same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a warning to Iranian leadership, warning that “there is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach” and arguing that Iran’s people would be “free” at a time “that will come a lot sooner than people think” in a video address.
Iran had previous fired hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel in April in response to the killing of senior IRGC officials at an Iranian consular facility in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Israel reportedly later conducted an airstrike against an air defense system near a nuclear site in Iran, though both sides downplayed the incident.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since the Palestinian group launched a massive surprise attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, followed by rocket and drone strikes carried out by Hezbollah from Lebanon. As the IDF advanced in Gaza over the past year, Israel-Hezbollah violence intensified to levels not witnessed since their last war fought in July 2006, displacing tens of thousands of both sides of the border.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
