IRAN says it has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles towards Israel in retaliation for a major attack on Tehran’s nuclear and military sites.
Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded across Israel on Friday night. This follows an unprecedented attack by Israel in the early hours of Friday, which targeted Iranian nuclear sites, senior military commanders and scientists.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel’s strikes had “initiated a war” and it would not be allowed to do “hit and run” attacks without consequences.
“The Zionist regime [Israel] will not remain unscathed from the consequences of its crime. The Iranian nation must be guaranteed that our response will not be half-measured,” Khamenei said in a statement.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Iran “carried out its crushing and precise response against dozens of targets, military centres and airbases” in Israel at the command of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Three separate waves of attacks and hundreds of missiles were launched at Israel on Friday night, Iranian state news agency IRNA said.
At least one projectile impacted central Tel Aviv, said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan.
However, the Israeli military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles, most of which were either intercepted or fell short.
According to the Reuters news agency, citing two unnamed officials, the United States military also helped Israel shoot down Iranian missiles heading towards the country.
Still, during the barrage, a modern apartment block was hit in central Tel Aviv, and according to live footage from the scene, fires raged inside some of the apartments, with smoke billowing from the building.
Another residential building, next to the apartment block, also appeared to have suffered significant damage, with windows blown and pieces of twisted metal hanging from its exterior.
At least 21 people were injured in the missile attacks, the Israeli ambulance service said, adding that two seriously wounded people were trapped in a building in the greater Tel Aviv area.
The Israeli army told citizens that they were now allowed to leave “protected spaces” after an earlier announcement called on residents to avoid public spaces amid a potential Iranian attack.
