Iran fires multiple missile attacks on Israel

Iran fired dozens of rockets against Israel on Tuesday, a spate of attacks said to be in response to the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned citizens to shelter in place and follow Home Front Command instructions as the Jewish state’s Iron Dome missile defense system works to intercept incoming missiles.

“During the defense, we intercepted some attacks,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said after the attack ended. “There is some impact in the center and areas in the south of the country.”

Hagari said that while Israel was still assessing the Iranian attack, officials “have no knowledge of any casualties.”

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Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts missiles, seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this latest rocket fire was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in an Israeli airstrike late last week and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, according to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned in a statement carried by Iranian state media that Israel would face “devastating attacks” if it responded to rocket fire.

Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts missiles, seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

A senior White House official told Fox News early Tuesday morning that Iran was preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel “imminently.” The move comes after weeks of Israeli attacks against Tehran’s proxies in the region.

Rockets fly into the sky amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to launch an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel,” the official said. “We are actively supporting defense preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack by Iran against Israel will have serious consequences for Iran.”

Another US official told Fox News that Iran could launch its attack as early as Tuesday afternoon, saying the US had seen additional missile movements in Iran to prepare for the now “imminent” attack.

The official added that the Iranian attack could look like the April strike against Israel, which had more than 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.

While the U.S. official did not know the exact extent, he said Iran has been in a state of readiness since early August following the July 31 killing of the Hamas leader to launch an attack within 12 to 24 hours on Israel Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel back in April, although the regime’s proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have exchanged attacks with Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.

On Tuesday, Israel began a limited ground invasion in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously described Nasrallah as a “flag bearer of resistance” in the region.

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei has reportedly gone into hiding and remains in a safe location in the country. (Iranian leader’s press office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images, File)

“The martyr’s blood shall not go unavenged,” Khamenei said after Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, late last week, according to Reuters.

Three US Navy destroyers are stationed in the Mediterranean, an aircraft carrier is in the Gulf of Oman and fighter jets are deployed across the region to support Israel in the event of an attack from Iran. All are capable of shooting down incoming missiles.

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Meanwhile, the US State Department announced on Tuesday that sanctions would be imposed imposed on two Israelis and a “violent extremist group” in the West Bank as Iran attacks the Jewish state.