Iran Launches Major Missile Attack on Israel over Killing of Hezbollah Leader, Others

•Netanyahu says Islamic republic made big mistake, vows retaliation

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel yesterday in what it said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and others.

CNN teams on the ground in multiple locations across Israel observed dozens of missiles flying above them. Some were intercepted by Israel’s air defences, although it is not clear how many. Sirens sounded across the country, according to a statement from Israel’s military.

Israel’s military said its initial estimate was that Iran fired 180 “projectiles” at the country. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there were no injuries following the attack, adding this was not the first time Israel had faced a threat from Iran. “We are ready for them,” he said.

“There was a serious attack on us and there will be serious consequences,” Hagari said in a briefing.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted Israel in response to the killing of Nasrallah and others, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

After the barrage of missiles was launched, the Iranian mission to the United Nations said that Tehran carried out a response to “the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime.”

The mission said on X that if Israel should “dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue.”

The White House warned earlier on Tuesday that Iran was poised to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel soon, instantly ratcheting up fears of all-out war in the region.

People in Tel Aviv and other cities had been told to stay near shelters or other protected areas and the atmosphere on the streets was noticeably tense.

In a statement released mid-morning, just hours before Tehran launched the attack, the White House said it had “indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” adding the United States was “actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack.”

“A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” a senior White House official said in a statement.

Israel assessed that Iran was likely to attack three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base located just north of Tel Aviv, a person briefed on the matter said before the attack. Some of the missiles launched by Iran appeared to target these locations.

The intelligence base in Glilot was evacuated Tuesday afternoon, the person said, and the Israeli military has put contingency plans for the safety of personnel at those bases into effect.

An Israeli source told CNN shortly after the White House’s warning that intense diplomacy was happening behind the scenes.

President Joe Biden convened a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris and top national security officials “to discuss Iranian plans to imminently launch a significant ballistic missile attack against Israel,” according to White House spokesperson Emilie Simons.

Simons added, “They reviewed the status of US preparations to help Israel defend against attacks and protect US personnel.”

After a year of heightened tensions between Israel and Iran’s proxies in the region — including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen — an attack by Iran toward Israel could further tip the region toward full-scale conflict.

US and Arab diplomats are already concerned about what might happen after Iran’s expected attack, including the scale of Israel’s response. One major concern on their mind is Israel possibly using a forthcoming Iranian strike to respond by striking inside Iran.

“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said during his speech at the United Nations last week.

The US was earlier prepared to do whatever it can to help Israel intercept anything Iran directed its way, similar to how the US offered its assistance in April, when Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles towards Israel — the vast majority of which were successfully intercepted, a US official said.

Hagari said in a statement that the IDF intercepted “many” of the missiles, although he did not elaborate on exact numbers.

“There are a few impacts in the centre and some more in the south. At this stage, we are assessing the situation. We are not aware of injuries,” he said.

The US had anticipated that the attack from Iran against Israel could be similar in scope and scale to the one in April, a US official told CNN.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have ratcheted up significantly in recent weeks as Israel has stepped up its efforts against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, and Israel on Monday launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu asked Israelis to “stand together” and keep following the frontline commands as fears of an imminent attack from Iran grow.

Netanyahu said Israel was in the throes of a “campaign against Iran’s axis of evil” and made specific demands from the Israeli public.

“What I ask of you is two things: One – to strictly obey the directives of the frontline command, it saves lives. And second – to stand together,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

After the attack subsided, the Israeli Prime Minister said Iran “made a big mistake tonight, and will pay for it”.

Speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting, the Israeli PM said Iran “does not understand” his country’s “determination to retaliate” against its enemies.

“They will understand,” he said. “We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us – we will attack,”  he reiterated.