BREAKING NEWS Iran’s attack on Israel has begun. The Israeli army announces that Iran has launched more than 200 missiles towards Israel

UPDATE The Pentagon states that it has no knowledge of the US being informed by Iran

Pentagon spokesman Patrick S. Ryder said during a news conference on Tuesday that he was “not aware” of reports that Tehran had warned the US in advance of its missile attack on Israel.

UPDATE Blinken: Iran’s attack is “totally unacceptable”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Iranian missile attack against Israel “totally unacceptable” and added that “the whole world should condemn it”, writes CNN.

Israel “effectively defeated this attack,” Blinken added during a press briefing.

UPDATEThe Iranian president threatens: This is only a small part of what we can do

UPDATE The IDF announces that it will respond to Iran’s attack

The spokesman for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, said that the Israeli air force will “strike hard in the Middle East” this evening, notes the BBC.

“Iran has carried out a serious act tonight and is pushing the Middle East towards an escalation,” he adds.

“Tonight’s event will have consequences.”

UPDATE Hamas praises the Iranian attack on Israel

Hamas praised Iran’s attack on Israel this evening, Reuters reports.

The militant group said the attacks were “avenging” the deaths of three people killed in recent Israeli strikes.

UPDATE Israeli military says Iran attack ‘will have consequences’

Israel has plans to retaliate in response to Iran’s missile attack, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday, CNN notes.

“This attack will have consequences,” Hagari said in a statement. “We have plans and we will operate in the place and at the time we decide.”

UPDATE Russia was informed by Tehran before the missile attacks

Tehran informed Russia before the missile attacks on Israel, a senior official told Reuters, writes Sky News.

The official also said that the US was alerted by Iran through diplomatic channels “shortly before the attacks”.

Iran’s attack on Israel. What we know so far

• Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel tonight, with sirens sounding across the country – including major cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
• The launch order came from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with an official warning that Tehran was “fully prepared for any retaliation” from Israel.
• Iran says 80 percent of the rockets hit their targets, but the Israel Defense Forces said they were “not aware” of any injuries, and people were told they could now leave their shelters.
• Israel used its famous Iron Dome defense system to shoot down the missiles and also had help from US military forces in the region after the White House ordered them to intervene.
• The attack was “much larger” than the one carried out by Iran in April and could mark the beginning of a “ballistic missile war” in the Middle East.
• The situation comes after weeks of escalating tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, supported by Iran. Hezbollah’s leader was killed in an Israeli strike last month, and Israel launched a limited ground operation in Lebanon against the group.

• António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, condemned the “expansion of the conflict in the Middle East, with escalation after escalation” and declared that “we absolutely need a ceasefire”.

• Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari spoke on television reacting to what the country called today Iran’s “serious attack” on Israel. Hagari, the spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), promised that the attack “will have consequences.” He added that the country remains on high alert.

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the rocket launches against Israel were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July, and last week’s killing in Lebanon of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. and the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Abbas Nilforoushan.

• Two armed men were involved in what Israeli authorities called a “terrorist attack”, shooting at Jewish residents of Jaffa, which is part of Tel Aviv. The initial reports came shortly before Iran also learned that four people had been killed and seven wounded. The two attackers were killed. Few details are known yet.

UPDATE Iran used Fatah-1 hypersonic ballistic missiles for the first time against Israel

Iranian state television previously reported that in today’s attack, the Iranian military used hypersonic Fattah missiles on Israel for the first time, The Guardian writes.

UPDATE Iran allegedly tried to target the Dimona reactor

Israeli journalist Yossi Melman claimed that Iran tried to target the Dimona reactor

UPDATE Biden asks the US military to support Israel in its defense against Iran’s attack

The White House announced that US President Joe Biden ordered the US military to help defend Israel against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles aimed at Israel, reports Reuters.

UPDATE The timing of the launch of several ballistic missiles from Iran

Reported footage showing the launch of multiple ballistic missiles from Iran earlier this evening. pic.twitter.com/YszCVIXRBq

— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) October 1, 2024

UPDATE Iran’s attack, at the order of the supreme leader

The missile attack on Israel was carried out on the orders of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Reuters reports.

UPDATE The Israeli Security Cabinet, reunited in a bunker

The Israeli security cabinet is in an emergency bunker in Jerusalem, according to an Israeli source.

CNN teams on the ground in Israel counted dozens of rockets that flew over Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa in the last hour.

UPDATE More than 200 missiles were launched by Iran

Almost 200 rockets were launched from Iran at Israel, reports Army Radio.

UPDATE IDF urges residents to take shelter

Iran’s attack continues, the IDF said in a statement.

The Israeli army reiterated its previous message to residents and told them to “remain in a protected area until further notice”.

“The explosions you hear are from interceptions or falling projectiles,” he said.

The IDF said it was “currently identifying and intercepting the launches”.

UPDATE The launch of ballistic missiles is a response to the assassinations of Hezbollah leaders

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel in response to Israel’s recent assassination of several Hezbollah leaders, including the group’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, the NYT writes.

UPDATE Iran confirms the missile launch and threatens Israel with a new attack if it retaliates

Iran’s state news agency IRNA has now confirmed that Tehran’s military has begun firing ballistic missiles at Israel, it writes BBC.

Iran has also threatened to attack again if Israel responds to this action, according to Reuters.

UPDATE The second wave of missiles was launched by Iran towards Israel

A second wave of missiles was launched minutes later by Iran at Israel.

The time it took the first rockets to reach Israel – less than 15 minutes – suggests that they were ballistic missiles, writes the New York Times.

INITIAL NEWS

Missiles launched from Iran were detected on Israeli territory, the IDF confirms.

Air defense systems are operational, but alerts can cover large regions due to varied threats.

More than 100 missiles were launched from Iran towards bases in the southern and central regions, this being considered a first wave of missiles launched by Iran.