Tehran: Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel late Friday, intensifying the ongoing conflict between the two nations, according to the Associated Press.
Television broadcasts in Israel showed smoke rising and explosions rocking Tel Aviv following the missile barrage. The Israeli military confirmed that more rockets were incoming. Seven people sustained minor injuries in central Israel, said Eli Bin, spokesperson for the Magen David Adom emergency service. Channel 12 aired images of a damaged building, reportedly hit by a missile.
In a statement released by state media, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has executed its decisive and precise response against tens of targets, military centres and airbases of the usurping Zionist regime in the occupied territories.”
Air raid sirens were heard throughout Israel, and authorities instructed residents to remain indoors. Israeli forces reported efforts to intercept the strikes. Iranian officials told Reuters that “at least two Israeli fighter jets were shot down in Iranian skies.”
This assault was in retaliation for earlier Israeli airstrikes that targeted Iran’s underground nuclear facility in Natanz and killed several top commanders.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a televised address, warned, “The armed forces of the Islamic republic will inflict heavy blows upon this malevolent enemy,” adding that Israel’s actions would “bring it to ruin.”
In a televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” He added, “Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.”
