The Israeli Defense Forces said Iran fired rockets at Israel just before 1 p.m. EDT—news that comes after the U.S. said it believed Iran was preparing to “imminently” launch missile strikes against Israel, potentially escalating the war in the Middle East.
This picture shows Iranian launched projectiles being intercepted by Israel above Jerusalem, on Oct. ... [+]
The IDF said Iran fired rockets in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, at 12:35 p.m. EDT.
In a follow up post, Israel’s military said Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters.
A senior White House official said earlier on Tuesday the U.S. had “indications” Iran would launch a “ballistic missile strike against Israel” imminently, though the scale of the attack wasn’t clear, CNN reported.
The unnamed official told CNN the U.S. was “actively supporting” preparations to defend Israel against the expected attack, which would carry “severe consequences” for Iran.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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Iranian officials warned they would retaliate against Israel for a strike last week that killed the longtime leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was one of at least seven Hezbollah leaders killed in recent weeks as Israel has increased its attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The attacks increased after Israel’s Security Cabinet updated its objectives of war in mid-September to include “returning [Israeli]
10 million. That’s roughly how many civilians were targeted by the Iranian missile strike, the IDF said on X.
The U.S. response to the reported attack. Emilie Simons, a spokesperson for Biden, said in a post on X that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with their national security team to discuss Iran’s plans to imminently attack and “reviewed the status of U.S. preparations to help Israel defend against attacks and protect U.S. personnel.” Simons said the meeting convened around 12:35 p.m. EDT—just before the IDF said Iran launched its attack.
On Monday, Israel began “targeted ground raids” in a notable escalation of the fighting. The IDF said the raids were “limited, localized, and targeted … in southern Lebanon” against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure, and that the Israeli Air Force and Artillery will also conduct “precise strikes on military targets” in support of the raids.