Israel launches airstrikes against Iran
Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, the Israeli military said, fulfilling its vow to retaliate for an earlier Iranian attack.
The direct attack raised fears that turbulent conflicts in the Middle East could escalate into an all-out war between Israel and Iran, the region’s two most powerful militaries.
Residents of Tehran reported hearing explosions in and around the Iranian capital, and Iranian state media sites said the explosions were near or at Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Maryam Naraghi, an Iranian journalist, said she heard large explosions in the eastern part of Tehran, where she lives. “It was the sound of bombs and explosions,” she said. “It was very close to where I am in the eastern part of the city.” The area includes military bases and the secretive military site Parchin.
Another Iranian journalist, Reza Rashidpour, said five massive explosions were heard in Tehran within about 10 seconds. He said Iranian air force jets had taken off in the western part of the country.
The United States confirmed that Israel had launched an attack, but did not comment further, directing questions to the Israeli government.
“We understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as an exercise of self-defense and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel,” said Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the National Security Council.
A U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Israel had alerted Biden administration officials in advance of the strikes but declined to say how much warning was provided. White House and Pentagon officials have consulted closely with Israel in recent days about the scope and type of targets Israel would launch against Iran. U.S. officials expressed anger that Israel failed to give Washington advance warning before an Israeli assault killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The attack early Saturday was a response to several waves of ballistic missiles that Iran launched at Israel on Oct. 1, which forced millions of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters but did minimal damage.
Iran said it fired the missiles at Israel in response to Israel’s killings of Nasrallah and a Revolutionary Guard commander who was with him at the time; and of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, whose assassination while in Tehran was particularly embarrassing to the government there.
The recent exchanges between Israel and Iran have bucked both countries’ long-standing practice of avoiding direct military clashes. For years, Israel and Iran have fought each other in a shadow war involving covert operations and armed groups backed by Iran, including Hamas and Hezbollah. But the conflict between the two countries has come out into the open this year and threatens to launch a war that could embroil much of the world.
What else to know
• Strikes in Gaza: Israel’s retaliation against Iran followed a series of strikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday that left dozens dead, according to officials from the Gaza Health Ministry and the World Health Organization. Residents said Israeli forces attacked without warning.
• Hospital loses communication: In northern Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry on Friday night said that Israeli forces had raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few medical facilities still functioning in the area, leading to the deaths of two children in the intensive care unit after generators stopped operating. The ministry said about 600 people were in the hospital as Israeli forces were searching and firing shots, causing panic.
• Journalists killed in Lebanon: Early Friday, an Israeli airstrike hit a residence in southern Lebanon where journalists were staying, killing three people, according to their employers and Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The Al-Manar network, operated by Hezbollah, and Al Mayadeen, an outlet widely seen as aligned with the militant group, said its personnel were among the dead. Photos of the aftermath of the strike show that at least three cars clearly marked “PRESS” were parked at the residence. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike.
• Israeli fatalities: The Israeli military said that five soldiers had been killed overnight in southern Lebanon, and later said that three others had been killed in fighting Friday in northern Gaza. It has been an unusually deadly 48 hours for Israeli troops. At least 13 have been confirmed killed in operations against Hamas and Hezbollah.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.