Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening, an attack that could set off a sharp escalation in the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran and tip the region further into turmoil and a widening war.
“A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran to Israel,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Air raid sirens sounded across Israel, including in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Loud booming explosions were heard above Tel Aviv, and flashes of light from the arcing intercepting rockets of Israel’s air defense system were visible.
The salvo of missiles from Iran came a day after Israeli forces began a rare ground invasion of southern Lebanon aimed at crippling the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah there.
Iran backs Hezbollah and Hamas, the two militias currently fighting Israel, as well as the Houthis in Yemen.
A senior White House official said the United States would help defend Israel and warned that a direct attack against Israel “will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
U.S. officials assess that Iran will launch mostly, if not solely, ballistic missiles at Israel in the next few hours, and likely in more than one wave.
President Biden and Vice President Harris held a meeting on Tuesday morning with national security officials “to discuss Iranian plans to imminently launch a significant ballistic missile attack against Israel,” according to the White House.
They reviewed plans to help Israel defend against the attacks and protect Americans in the region.
Iran’s state media report that Iran has launched ballistic missiles on Israel. “It’s raining missiles in Tel Aviv,” headlined Tasnim News Agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Here is what else to know:
Lebanon : The warning of a possible Iranian attack arrived hours after the Israeli military confirmed that its forces had crossed into Lebanon in an operation aimed at Hezbollah targets in the rugged border region.
It said that one army division — which typically numbers more than 10,000 soldiers — was involved in conducting “limited, localized and targeted raids” along the border, although it was unclear how many of those troops were inside Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it was calling up four more reserve brigades “for operational missions in the northern arena.”
Chaos in Beirut : The Israeli military on Tuesday conducted airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, claiming one of the strikes had killed Ja’afar Qasir, a senior Hezbollah commander who oversaw the transfer of Iranian munitions to the armed group in the attack.
There was no immediate confirmation by Hezbollah.
Months of escalation : For weeks, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have been escalating, including intense airstrikes and the killing of top leaders of Hezbollah.
Over the past year, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas, the Gaza-based armed group also backed by Iran.
Hezbollah missiles. : Hezbollah continued its strikes on Israel, saying on Tuesday that it had fired missiles at the Glilot base on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, which is home to the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency.
Sirens sounded in central Israel, including in the Tel Aviv area.
Past invasions : Israel last fought on the ground in Lebanon in 2006.
In three major invasions since 1978, Israel has aimed to secure its northern border, with each campaign achieving less decisive results than military and political leaders anticipated.
U.S. troops : The Pentagon said on Monday that United States was sending a few thousand additional forces to the Middle East to bolster the 40,000 already in the region and to help defend Israel. (New York Times / vitalnewsngr.com)
