Iran launches missile strike against Israel

This story has been updated
Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, as Israeli citizens were advised to seek shelter.
In a statement the Israel Defense Forces said “A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran to Israel,” according to The New York Times. A spokesperson from the IDF later said the attack would have “consequences.”
Hundreds of missiles have been seen above Jerusalem and Haifa and several have been intercepted, per CNN.
The missiles are believed to be ballistic missiles due to the fact that the time they took to reach Israel was under 15 minutes.
There have been no immediate reports of casualties in the wake on the missile strike in Israel.
Israel also launched an airstrike against Beirut Tuesday. In a statement the Israeli military also said it assassinated Muhammad Ja’far Qasir, a senior Hezbollah commander, in the airstrike. Hezbollah has not confirmed.
According to The New York Times, Jordan and Iraq have both closed their airspaces.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have met with national security officials and are monitoring the Iranian attack from the White House Situation Room.
Biden has directed the military to aid Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks.
On Tuesday, a White House representative said the U.S. believes Iran is preparing a ballistic missile attack against Israel, per CNN.
The warning to Israel and the Middle East from the U.S. came at 5 a.m. EDT or noon local time.
In a statement, a White House official said, “The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel. We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
According to CNN, the U.S. is prepared to do whatever it can to help Israel intercept anything Iran directs its way.
The warnings of a missile strike from Iran came just hours after Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon, per The Hill.
This invasion targeted the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah with the goal of taking out its military capabilities.
According to Axios, Iran has also been promising retaliation against Israel since Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran two months ago.
In the last two weeks, Iran has been urging Hezbollah to launch an attack against Israel.
This imminent attack from Iran is expected to be similar to the one that occurred in April, according to CNN.
That attack involved Iran launching a wave of drones and missiles toward Israel, the majority of which were intercepted.
Shortly after the warning from the White House, the Israeli military said it has not yet identified an aerial threat from Iran.
According Daniel Hagai, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, the Israeli military is scanning the sky for any threat from Iran.
Per CNN, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is “tracking events in the Middle East very closely” and is committed to the defense of Israel.
According to Reuters, Israeli police reported that gunmen opened fire in Tel Aviv on the boundary with Jaffa Tuesday, and there were multiple casualties.
First responders received the reporter of people injured by gunfire at 7:01 p.m. (12:01 ET).
Footage showed two gunmen getting off at a light rail station and then opening fire. It was reported by Israel media that at least four people were seriously injured.
Per The New York Times, at least one of the suspected attackers has been killed.
On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump released a statement addressing Iran’s imminent attack on Israel, claiming no one is running the country.
Trump’s statement began with “The World is on fire and spiraling out of control. We have no leadership, no one running the country.”
The statement continued by saying that while Trump was president Iran was “starved for cash, fully contained and desperate to make a deal.”
Trump goes onto say in the statement that when he was president there was no war in the Middle East, no war in Europe and harmony in Asia.
The statement ended with “If I win, we will have peace in the World again. If Kamala gets 4 more years, the World goes up in smoke.”