Iran has fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, sending Israelis diving into shelters but prompting celebrations across Iran. There was no immediate report of casualties in the attack late Tuesday.
Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles, and officials in Washington said U.S. destroyers assisted in Israel’s defense. Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning Monday to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and Hamas. “There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu said, just days after an airstrike south of Beirut killed the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which is backed by Tehran.
Hezbollah’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, promised the group will fight on following the death of its long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s top commanders who have been assassinated in recent days. Kassem said the group’s fighters are ready and the slain commanders have already been replaced.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas sent fighters into Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. It’s been almost a year since some 250 people were abducted from Israel, and friends and family are worried about their loved ones as attention turns away from hostages and north toward Lebanon.
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Here is the latest:
Israel reopens its airspace
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has reopened its airspace after the Iranian missile attack.
The country’s airport authority briefly closed Israel’s airspace to incoming flights during Tuesday’s attack and diverted them to other airports outside the country.
But after the army said the threat had passed, the authority said flights were operating as normal again.
Flights to Israel have repeatedly been disrupted by the yearlong war, with many major carriers suspending service because of the ongoing fighting.
UN Security Council schedules an emergency meeting
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the escalating situation in the Middle East for Wednesday at 10 a.m., at the request of France and Israel.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a letter to the council late Tuesday that the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel “demonstrates that the charm offensive conducted by Iran and its new president is a mirage and the decision-making in Iran lies with the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards.”
He accused Iran of trying to destroy Israel “with a ring of fire from seven fronts” and urged the Security Council to condemn the country and designate its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
Several airlines land in Azerbaijan after Iran closes its airspace
LONDON — Several international airlines requested permission to make emergency landings in Azerbaijan following the closure of Iranian air space.
Iran, which launched a massive barrage of missiles on Israel on Tuesday, closed its airspace in case Israel retaliated, Iranian news agencies reported.
Iran is south of Azerbaijan and the two countries share a border.
A LOT Polish airlines flight from Warsaw to Mumbai and a Qatar Airways flight from Moscow to Doha both landed at the Heydar Aliyev airport in Baku, the airport’s press service said.
Both flights were Boeing 787s and landed within minutes of each other just before 10 p.m. local time, the airport said.
US discusses ‘next steps’ with Israel, Pentagon spokesperson says.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in discussions with his counterpart in Israel after Iran fired a barrage of almost 200 missiles at the nation.
Austin received a short update from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and “is consulting closely with them on next steps,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday.
Iran launched about twice as many ballistic missiles Tuesday as it did during an attack against Israel earlier this year, but it did not appear to launch drones, Ryder said.
A full assessment of Tuesday’s attack is underway, he said. The Israeli military said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles in the April attack.
Ryder said two U.S. Navy destroyers — the USS Cole and the USS Bulkeley — fired about a dozen interceptors to defend Israel in the latest attack.
He decried reports indicating Iran wants to de-escalate tensions in the region.
“You don’t launch that many missiles at a target without the intent on hitting something,” Ryder said.
Harris condemns Iran as a ‘destabilizing, dangerous force’
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has condemned the missile attack on Israel by Iran, calling Tehran “a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East.”
The vice president said Tuesday that she supports President Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down the missiles targeting Israel.
“We are still assessing the impact but initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack,” she says.
She says her commitment to Israel is “unwavering,” and warns that Iran is more than a threat to Israel.
“Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests and innocent civilians across the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and -backed terrorist proxies,” she says.
Biden reasserts Washington’s support of Israel
President Joe Biden says his administration is “fully supportive” of Israel after it thwarted an Iranian missile attack and that he’s in “active discussion” with aides about an appropriate response.
Biden also praised the U.S. and Israel militaries for defeating the Iranian missile barrage.
“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden said Tuesday at the start of a meeting with White House officials focused on the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said soon after the attack that it amounted to a “significant escalation by Iran.”
Biden said it remains to be seen what consequences Iran will face.
Netanyahu warns Iran: ‘Whoever attacks us, we attack them’
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran will pay a price for its missile barrage on Israel.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said as he gathered his Security Cabinet for a meeting late Tuesday.
Netanyahu said the missile attack was a failure and that Iran would soon learn a painful lesson just as enemies in Gaza, Lebanon and other places have learned.
“Whoever attacks us, we attack them,” he said.
Israeli military says no reports of casualties in Iranian attack
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has received no reports of injuries from the Iranian missile attack.
The military’s spokesperson, 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 urged the public to continue to listen to public-safety guidelines from the army.
Shooting reports prompt a cordon around Israeli Embassy in Stockholm
STOCKHOLM — Police have cordoned off areas around the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm after reports of a shooting.
Local newspaper Expressen said Tuesday that a weapon and at least one empty bullet casing were found near the embassy and that police are looking for a suspect who fled the scene.
Stockholm police told the Swedish news agency TT that police were investigating reports of a loud bang but wouldn’t confirm that a shooting took place.
Security around the embassy has been stepped up this year following threats and incidents, including reports of a “dangerous object” found in the vicinity of the embassy that Swedish media described as a hand grenade.
Iran says most of the missiles it fired at Israel hit their targets
TEHRAN — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said 90% of missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.
The statement broadcast on state TV late Tuesday said the attack targeted air and radar bases as well as security apparatus that planned the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.
It said Iran has a right to defend itself under international regulations.
The TV station showed footage of missiles being launched in the darkness from unidentified locations in Iran.
Iranian state TV airs footage of people celebrating missile attack on Israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-liners, has aired images of people in Arak, Qom and Tehran celebrating Iran’s missile attack in Israel.
Some shouted, “God is great!” “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
However, Iran’s support of regional militias abroad has been a point of anger during protests as the country suffers under international sanctions.
Britain’s leader condemns Iranian attack on Israel
LONDON — 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.
He reiterated the U.K.’s commitment to Israel’s security and the protection of civilians, but emphasized the importance of seeking cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza, the prime minister’s office said in a readout of the call.
Starmer also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and they both called for de-escalation of fighting in the region.
Blinken says Iran fired some 200 missiles at Israel
WASHINGTON — 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.
Sullivan called the attack “a significant escalation by Iran,” and reiterated there would be “severe consequences” on Iran for the attack.
3 men fatally shot by Israeli forces in northern Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli forces have killed at least three people trying to return to their homes in the northern half of Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces stationed at the east-west Netzarim route that divides the Palestinian enclave opened fire on the men Tuesday, according to the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Bahah.
An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances taking people to the hospital, and counted the bodies.
The officials said the men were among a group of people trying to return to their homes.
The Israeli military has sealed off northern Gaza and is preventing displaced people from returning to their homes there.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias warn US against ‘hostile action’ in support of Israel
BEIRUT — Iran-backed Iraqi militias say if the U.S. takes part in “any hostile action” against Iran then American interests in the region will be under threat.
The statement Tuesday from the group calling itself the Coordination Committee for the Iraqi Resistance also warned Israel against using Iraqi airspace to retaliate against Iran for a missile barrage fired at Israel, saying “all American bases and interests in Iraq and the region will be our target.”
Iran-backed militias in Iraq regularly target bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria with drones, saying they are retaliating for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Police say 6 people killed in shooting in Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM — Israel police say six people have been killed in a shooting in Tel Aviv.
Police say two suspects opened fire Tuesday evening on a boulevard in Jaffa, a mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv. Twelve people also were wounded in the shooting.
Police said the two suspects were killed.
The attack came moments before a massive barrage of rockets from Iran sent people into bomb shelters across Israel, including in Tel Aviv.
UN chief again calls for a cease-fire in the Middle East
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.”
Guterres’ comments Tuesday came shortly after Iran said it fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said its army has crossed the border into Lebanon and is conducting “localized ground raids” on Hezbollah positions.
“This must stop,” the U.N. chief said in a statement Tuesday. “We absolutely need a cease-fire.”
Hezbollah says Israeli images from Lebanon are part of a ‘propaganda war’
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hezbollah militant group says media published by the Israeli military showing its cross-border forays into Lebanon have nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.
The Israeli military says its army has been carrying out secretive ground operations to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanese villages close to the border for the past year and has released footage of what it said was Israeli soldiers uncovering tunnels and weapons in Lebanese villages.
Hezbollah said in a statement Tuesday that picture and videos that the Israeli military says show tunnels and houses entered by Israeli soldiers are “very old and have no relationship to any current military action on the Lebanese border.”
It says the images are part of a “psychological and propaganda war.”
The Israeli military has said its forces entered Lebanon overnight to begin a “limited” ground incursion. Hezbollah denies that any Israeli troops have crossed the border.
Israeli military says it killed another senior Hezbollah operative
BEIRUT — Israel’s military says it killed a senior Hezbollah operative in an airstrike on an apartment building on the edge of Beirut.
The Israeli military says Mohammed Jaafar Qassir was killed in a strike Tuesday afternoon. It says Qassir was in charge of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 that ships weapons from Iran to Lebanon and he supervised Hezbollah’s development of precision-guided missiles.
The Israeli military said Qassir also sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah in recent years.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.
Qassir’s brother Ahmad carried out a suicide attack in southern Israeli port city of Tyre in 1982 that killed dozens of Israeli soldiers. His death is marked annually as “Martyr’s Day.”
Iran says it has launched dozens of missiles at Israel
Iran says it has launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel.
The claim came in a statement read aloud on state television Tuesday as air raid sirens sounded and explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem.
The statement warned that “if Israel responds militarily to this operation, it will face a harsher response.”
Iran referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. The statement also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.
It warned this attack represented only a “first wave,” without elaborating.
Israeli military says Iran has fired missiles at Israel
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens are sounding across the country.
Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari released a video statement Tuesday saying “the air defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment.”
Soon after, a series of explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem. It was not immediately known if they were interceptions or incoming missiles landing. The explosions near Jerusalem were so loud that windows shook.
Residents were ordered to shelter in place and remain close to bomb shelters. The order was sent to mobile phones and announced on national television. TV stations reported sirens in parts of Jerusalem as well as central Israel.
Iranian media posted videos that appeared to show missile launches at several sites across the country, but the Iranian government did not immediately acknowledge what was happening.
The alerts were sounded after a day of rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon. Israeli authorities also warned that Iran might be preparing a missile attack.
Israel has warned there would be “repercussions” if Iran attacks.
Israeli military urges public to heed warnings about a possible Iranian strike
The Israeli military is urging the public to stay close to sheltered areas and says it takes seriously the possibility of an attack by Iran.
Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that Israelis must obey public safety guidelines issued by the military’s Home Front Command.
“The Iranian strike could be widespread. Following Home Front Command guidelines can save lives,” Hagari said.
US official warns that Iran could strike Israel within 12 hours
WASHINGTON — A U.S. official has said Iran may strike Israel within the next 12 hours, with an attack that could be as big as or bigger than strikes earlier this year.
However, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details on a sensitive matter, cautioned that Iran has been postured to conduct such an attack since August – in order to be able to strike on short notice – and that the U.S. has not seen significant changes in Iran’s posture in the last day or so.
Iran launched an unprecedented 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.
— By Tara Copp
UN secretary-general warns against further escalation in Lebanon
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is appealing for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, warning that escalation to an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah militants must be avoided “at all costs.”
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, who delivered the message from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.
Guterres spoke earlier Tuesday to Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and told him the U.N. system is mobilized to assist those in need, Dujarric said. He also appealed to the international community to urgently support a $426 million humanitarian appeal to help the people of Lebanon.
US orders diplomats and families in Israel and West Bank to shelter in place
WASHINGTON — The State Department has ordered all U.S. diplomats and their families based in Israel and the West Bank to shelter in place until further notice as the security situation becomes increasingly uncertain with Israel’s ground incursion in Lebanon and potential threats of an Iranian missile attack.
“As a result of the current security situation, the U.S. Embassy has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice,” the embassy in Jerusalem said Tuesday in a notice to American citizens.
“This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans,” it said. “The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events.”
Blinken says the US is watching the situation in Lebanon ‘very closely’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration is watching the situation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon “very closely” and “very carefully,” but is committed to Israel’s defense and security.
Speaking Tuesday before talks with the visiting foreign minister of Morocco, Blinken did not address the threat to Israel posed by a potential Iranian ballistic missile launch that was identified by the White House shortly before he spoke.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s defense,” he said. “We’re watching developments, as I said, very carefully at this moment.”
The Associated Press