Iran has launched missiles at Israel – after US White House officials warned it had indications that it was preparing an imminent ‘ballistic missile attack’ in the region
Iran has launched missiles at Isreal after warnings by White House officials that a ‘ballistic missile attack’ in the region was imminent.
It follows a series of deadly Israeli air raids across Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, after the IDF said on Monday night it had began to carry out what it called a “limited, localised” operation against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
Israeli civilians are believed to have taken cover in bomb shelters after reports that rockets from Iran have been fired into Israel. The Israel Defense Forces wrote on X: “All Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as rockets from Iran are fired at Israel. Hezbollah is upset that the IDF exposed their plans to massacre Israelis, so they decided to target innocent civilians by firing a barrage of rockets.”
Earlier, CNN’s senior White House correspondent, MJ Lee, said an official had warned an Iranian attack against Israel was on the way. In a post shared on X/Twitter, she said: “The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran. The US expects that the potentially forthcoming Iran attack on Israel could be similar in scope and scale as the attack back in April, per US official.”
The US government said Iran was set to target Israeli military sites in the missile strike. A senior White House official and defence department counterpart told the NBC news network that the country would not be seeking to attack civilian sites, and were instead focusing on military and government installations.
The warning came on Tuesday afternoon and saw President Biden recieve an official briefing on the impending attack against Israel. According to the Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, a short range ballistic missile has the potential to create an explosive damage radius of up to 1.06km, and result in more than 77,000 casualties in an urban centre.
The deadly strike comes as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in recent days. Last night, Israel said its troops had entered southern Lebanon to carry out what it called a “limited” raid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the country’s invasion of southern Lebanon. According to Axios political reporter Barak Ravid, Netanyahu said: “We are in the midst of a campaign against Iran’s axis of evil. We must stand together. We will stand firm together in the challenging days ahead.”
Meanwhile Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, says Lebanon faces “one of the most dangerous phases of its history”. Around 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, roughly 6,000 wounded and one million displaced from their homes as a result of Israeli attacks in recent days.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 41,638 people have been killed and 96,460 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year. At least 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 in Israel, while more than 200 people were taken captive.
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