The Islamic Republic launched 180 missiles in several waves at Israel Tuesday night, less than 24 hours after the IDF began ground operations in southern Lebanon to strike at the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia.
The barrages, which lasted for about one hour, sent an estimated 10 million Israelis to local bomb shelters as the projectiles targeted multiple locations throughout the Jewish state.
Many of the munitions were reportedly destroyed by air defense systems, even as Jerusalem confirmed successful strikes in the central and southern parts of the country.
The head of the Magen David Adom emergency service agency reported two individuals were lightly wounded by injuries sustained from falling shrapnel.
The only known fatality from the incursion was a 38-year-old Palestinian from Jericho who was killed when a fragment of an Iranian-made missile fell on him.
“There were a small number of hits in the center of Israel and other hits in southern Israel,’’ military spokesperson Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters. “The majority of the incoming missiles were intercepted by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States.’’
Hagari’s sentiments were shared by White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who told reporters in Washington, “this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” before describing the incident as “a significant escalation by Iran.”
The regime in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement that the bombardment had been in response to last week’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the July elimination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Tehran’s actions to cabinet members following the conclusion of the attack as “a big mistake” before promising the government officials that the theocracy's leadership “will pay for it.”
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