US President Joe Biden has stated that the United States is “fully supportive” of Israel following Iran’s ballistic missile assaults, deeming Iran’s attack as “defeated and ineffective.”
Mr. Biden mentioned that he would discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the appropriate response to Iran, although the nature of that response remains to be determined.
“The attack seems to have been defeated and ineffective, which speaks volumes about both Israeli and US military capabilities,” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House.
“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.”
Alarms rang out across Israel, and explosions echoed in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley as Israelis hurried into bomb shelters.
Reporters on state television were seen lying flat on the ground during live coverage.
Reuters journalists reported witnessing missiles being intercepted in the airspace of Jordan.
A person lies prone to take cover behind a vehicle under a bridge along the side of a highway in Tel Aviv
Israel reported that over 180 missiles were launched from Iran, prompting Israeli air defenses to activate in an effort to intercept them.
The Pentagon confirmed that US Navy warships fired about a dozen interceptors targeting Iranian missiles directed towards Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the assault was retaliation for recent Israeli strikes that killed militant leaders and for aggression in Lebanon and Gaza.
The Revolutionary Guards stated that hypersonic Fattah missiles were used for the first time, achieving a 90% success rate in hitting their targets in Israel.
No injuries were reported in Israel, although one man was reported dead in the occupied West Bank, according to local authorities.
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Earlier, the Israeli military had warned that any ballistic missile strike from Iran was likely to be extensive, urging the public to seek shelter in safe rooms if an attack occurred.
Iran had pledged to retaliate following strikes that eliminated the senior leadership of its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.
The missile firings followed Israeli ground operations into Lebanon, marking the largest escalation of regional conflict since hostilities in Gaza began a year ago.
Israeli elite units conducted limited ground incursions into Lebanon recently as Hezbollah targeted Tel Aviv with missiles.
The reciprocal escalation came after weeks of intense Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, raising fears of a wider Middle Eastern conflict involving both Iran and the US.
Israeli army vehicles deploy at a position along the border with Lebanon in northern Israel
Israel executed an attack that targeted a high-rise building in the Jnah area of Beirut and struck the southern suburbs of the capital, briefly blocking the route to Beirut airport, according to two Lebanese security sources.
The Israeli military stated that it had conducted a “precise strike.”
An Israeli security official indicated that troops had begun limited raids into southern Lebanon overnight, with no direct clashes reported with Hezbollah fighters.
Live updates: Israel says missiles launched from Iran into Israel
Israeli forces have been conducting operations in southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels, weapon caches hidden beneath homes, and invasion plans by the group, said Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
The operations revealed Hezbollah’s intentions to infiltrate Israel and execute an operation similar to the one carried out by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7 last year, which initiated the ongoing conflicts.
Hezbollah has not responded to these allegations.
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Escalation in Lebanon continues
Iran had promised retaliation after Israeli airstrikes killed top Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, including the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, a significant figure in Iran’s network of militant support across the region.
Hamas, the Iran-aligned militant group in Gaza, commended the Iranian missile assaults as vengeance for Israeli killings of three militant leaders, including Mr. Nasrallah.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, entrenched in nearly a year of warfare, rejoiced as they witnessed multiple rockets heading towards Israel.
Some of these rockets fell within the Palestinian territory, having been intercepted by Israel, but no fatalities were reported, according to witnesses.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes killed the commander of the Imam Hussein division, which is linked to Hezbollah, according to Israel’s military.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb
Israel announced that its troops had launched limited ground incursions into Lebanon, though these were characterized as restricted operations.
Nearly 1,900 individuals have died and over 9,000 have been injured in Lebanon over almost a year of cross-border conflicts, with the majority of casualties occurring in the last two weeks, according to Tuesday’s statistics from the Lebanese government.
However, a ground campaign into Lebanon for the first time in 18 years, involving Israeli soldiers against Hezbollah, would signify a major regional escalation.
Israeli army video displays strikes on what is alleged to be Hezbollah missile launchers, near Beirut’s airport
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