dpa
Tel Aviv/Beirut
Iran on Tuesday said it fired missiles towards Israel, as a dpa correspondent reported loud explosions in Tel Aviv.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - the elite branch of the Iranian military - said it had launched the strikes on military targets, warning of “devastating and destructive attacks” if Israel responds.
Iranian television said the latest attack came in response to the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
“All Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as rockets from Iran are fired at Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on the social media platform X, as sirens sounded across the country.
Initial reports in Israeli media suggested that two people were slightly injured by shrapnel, while others were brought to hospital in a state of shock.
The IDF later said residents were “permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country.”
Shortly before the strikes, a senior White House official said the United States had “indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.” “A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the official further warned.
The latest developments come months after Iran launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel following the killing of an Iranian general in an airstrike in Syria.
Most of the attacks in April were successfully repelled by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system.
Israel launches Lebanon operation The attack came hours after the IDF began a “limited, localized” ground operation against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
In a post on X, the IDF said it had launched “targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence” in villages close to the border that “pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.” The IDF and the air force were supporting ground forces with “precise strikes” on military targets in the area, it added.
No direct clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters have yet been reported.
“All of our fighters are ready for a real confrontation,” a source for the Iran-backed militia told dpa.
However, the operation has already led to chaos in southern Lebanon following a renewed Israeli call for citizens to head north of the Alawi river, around 60 kilometres from the border. People were seen packing their belongings and heading towards Beirut.
Northern Arrows Dubbed Northern Arrows, the operation marks Israel’s first ground offensive into Lebanon since the 2006 war.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, triggered by the unprecedented October 7 attacks by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas organization, has been accompanied by almost a year of cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Last week, Israel launched a massive aerial campaign on targets across Lebanon, with the stated aim of pushing back Hezbollah to enable the return of tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern Israel.
The Israeli army had previously warned Lebanon’s population against travelling south of the Litani River, which is about 30 kilometres from the border.
According to a UN resolution, Hezbollah fighters are not allowed south of this line. However, after the 2006 war, militants gradually returned to the area.
Ahead of the ground incursion, the regular Lebanese army withdrew from the demarcation line.
Lebanon’s military has maintained a neutral stance in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
