Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles against Israel on Tuesday, the latest escalation between the two countries amid a widening conflict in the Middle East.
Dozens of projectiles were shot down over Tel Aviv by Israel’s vast missile defence system before they could hit any targets. A series of explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem.
Air raid sirens could be heard across central Israel as residents were ordered to enter bomb shelters. The Israeli military said rocket attack warnings were issued to about 10 million residents across the country, who later got an all-clear to leave their shelters.
The Pentagon said roughly 200 missiles had been launched into Israel from Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Iran had launched “tens” of missiles at Israel, and that if Israel retaliated Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous.”
Iran had vowed to retaliate following attacks that killed the top leadership of its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran’s attack was serious and will have consequences, but declined to specify how and when Israel would respond. He said there were a few hits in the center of the country and in the south, but that the military wasn’t aware of any injuries.
Israel’s airport authority said the country’s airspace has been closed and incoming flights are being diverted to airports outside the country.
The barrage came shortly after a White House official on Tuesday told Global News the U.S. had indications Iran was planning to “imminently” launch a 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,” the official wrote.
The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden directed the U.S. military to aid Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel. Biden and U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris monitored the Iranian attack from the White House Situation Room.
White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said U.S. naval destroyers in the region assisted the Israeli air force in intercepting the Iranian missiles, and no Israeli deaths or damage to Israeli military assets were reported. He said the U.S. was tracking reports that a Palestinian civilian was killed in the West Bank.
“Based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” he told reporters at a briefing.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller would not say what consequences the U.S. was considering for Iran’s “unacceptable” attack, telling reporters the administration would discuss next steps with its Israeli counterparts.
Ahead of the attack, the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem directed all government employees and family members to shelter at their homes until further notice. The last time such an order was issued was ahead of Iran’s missile barrage in April.
That was the first time Iran had launched a direct attack on Israel, though few of the missiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S. and British-led coalition while others appeared to fail at launch or crashed while in flight.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told reporters Tuesday that Canada condemned Iran’s latest attack “unequivocally.”
“These attacks from Iran will only serve to further destabilize the region and it must stop,” she said.
Joly did not say if any changes were being made to Canada’s consular or diplomatic missions in Israel in response to the attack. She said consular services were available to help Canadians in the country.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on the Liberal government to support Israel’s right to defend itself from Iran and its proxies “and all the other terrorists.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have repeatedly affirmed Canada’s support for Israel’s self-defence while also calling for humanitarian ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.
Hagar Chemali, a counterterrorism expert and former White House National Security Council director for Lebanon and Syria, told Global News the latest attack should not be seen as Iran looking for a direct war with Israel.
“(It’s) much more a symbol of, ‘We’re standing in solidarity with our brothers,'” she said.
“The regime is very weak at the moment, and they don’t want to enter a full war with Israel knowing that the United States is right behind Israel. That’s the last thing the regime wants at this stage.”
In a statement earlier Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was facing “large challenges” as it fights an Iranian axis. He urged the public to listen to public safety guidelines from the military’s Home Front Command, but did not make direct mention of the missile threat.
Canadians urged again to leave Lebanon
Defence Minister Bill Blair said there are Canadian facilities and aircraft in both Turkey and Cyprus but that the current focus is on using commercial means to get Canadian citizens out of Lebanon.
“We’ve sent a number of our people into the region. We have about 200 people in the area right now but we’re increasing that number as may be required,” he said.
The federal government has been urging Canadians in Lebanon to get out of the country immediately via commercial flights. Global Affairs Canada began reserving batches of seats on commercial flights last week to assist Canadians in leaving.
“We’re ready if we’re required to do more,” Blair told reporters outside the Liberal cabinet meeting in Ottawa Tuesday.
Joly said 200 Canadians got out of Lebanon over the weekend, and another 200 were due to leave Beirut for Turkey on Tuesday. She said the government has reserved over 600 commercial seats and was looking for more, noting not all of the reserved seats have been taken.
“If you are offered a seat, please take it,” she said.
The government has said over 40,000 Canadians are in Lebanon but roughly 20,000 have registered for updates and assistance.
Sources told Global News military assets were being pre-positioned in the region in order to move quickly if an evacuation is ordered.
Canadian MPs were set to hold an emergency debate in the House of Commons Tuesday evening on the crisis in Lebanon after Israel’s ground incursion intensified fears of a full-scale invasion.
Middle East conflict 'at a peak': expert
The attack from Iran comes a day after the Israeli military began what they called limited, localized and targeted raids against Iran-backed Hezbollah in the border area of southern Lebanon.
An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building near Beirut Tuesday, causing damage and blowing out windows in the area. The strike appeared to hit an apartment about 100 meters from the Iranian Embassy. There was no immediate word on casualties.
Israel’s military also said on Tuesday it had killed Muhammad Jaafar Qasir, a commander in charge of weapons transfers from Iran and its affiliates to Hezbollah.
Netanyahu on Monday warned Iran that there was “nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country,” accusing the Iranian government of plunging the Middle East “deeper into war” at the expense of its own people.
Israel has continued to launch attacks on Lebanon after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah — the most powerful leader in Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and U.S. interests in the Middle East — one of the heaviest blows in decades to both Hezbollah and Iran.
Nasrallah’s killing, along with the assassinations of other Hezbollah commanders and systematic attacks on the group’s communications devices, constitute the biggest blow to the Shi’ite movement since Iran created it in 1982 to fight Israel.
“You have to look at (Hezbollah) as essentially a loaded gun pointed at Israel’s head,” Chemali told Global News. “And Israel in large part undermined that gun, has made that gun much weaker. And that undermines, in turn, Iran’s influence.”
Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed to continue its attacks on Israel in solidarity with Hamas, which also receives support from Iran and has been embroiled in a nearly year-long conflict with Israel in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
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As Israel’s war in Lebanon escalates, border cities bear brunt of conflict -
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Kiryat Shmona: Uncertainty for Israeli city located next to Lebanon
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading rocket fire across the Israel-Lebanon border throughout the Gaza conflict. But the attacks have escalated in recent weeks, killing hundreds of civilians in Lebanon and leading to growing concerns that an all-out war — the first since 2006 — is imminent.
Israel has accused the Iranian proxies of preparing a repeat of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and sparked the current conflict, as the first anniversary approaches.
Chemali said a widescale war involving Iran remained unlikely given the Iranian regime’s domestic weakness, but warned further escalation was still possible.
“That doesn’t mean that this is not going to last a long time, and that the proxies are going to all be involved and you’re just going to have peaks and valleys,” she said.
“Right now, we’re at a peak.”
—with files from Global News’ Reggie Cecchini, The Associated Press and Reuters
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