Iran attacks Israel with missiles after Hezbollah leader killed

• Iran launched a missile attack on Israel.
• Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
• The US has said it is ready to defend Israel against an Iranian attack, as it did in April.

Iran launched a massive attack on Israel on Tuesday as tensions rise and violence reigns in the volatile Middle East.

The Israel Defense Forces said on Telegram that “shortly ago, missiles were fired from Iran towards the State of Israel.” Other social media pages said “all Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as missiles from Iran are fired at Israel.”

“The air defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this time,” the IDF said. Air raid sirens could be heard throughout the country.

Video footage showed Israeli air defenses intercepting Iranian missiles over Jerusalem. Other images showed rockets hitting Israel. Tehran reportedly fired about 200 missiles at the barrage.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked Israel in response to the killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, according to Tasnim, a news agency linked to the IRGC.

Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel after Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’ political wing, was assassinated in Tehran in July. Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in an airstrike in Beirut on Friday.

The Iranian attack also comes just hours after the Israeli military announced the start of a “limited” ground operation inside Lebanon.

The IDF issued a statement shortly after 20:30 local time saying that people were being allowed to leave bomb shelters, indicating that the rocket attack had ended for the time being.

Earlier on Tuesday, a White House official said the US had indications that Iran was preparing to launch an “imminent” ballistic missile attack on Israel.

“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack by Iran against Israel will have serious consequences for Iran,” the official said.

The US military has a wide range of assets in position around the Middle East and in the eastern Mediterranean that can protect Israel, just as US forces did in April when Iran launched a massive missile and drone strike against the country.

The US now has more assets positioned in the region than it did then. It is not clear how many Iranian missiles US forces shot down on Tuesday.

The US has repeatedly said it is ready to defend Israel again and protect its own forces in the region from any attack by Iran or its regional proxies. As it has stepped up its force presence, Washington has also tried to contain rising tensions and conflicts in the Middle East to prevent them from escalating, but has failed to do so.

Speaking at the United Nations on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran that any direct attack by the country would be met with a response. After the unprecedented bombing in April, Israel hit Iran directly.

“If you hit us, we will hit you,” he said, adding that there is no place in Iran where “the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that goes for the entire Middle East.”