Iran fired ballistic missiles into Israel on Tuesday, triggering sirens across the country, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Orange flames lit up the Israeli sky as NBC News crews watched the rockets being fired both in Tel Aviv and across the Lebanese border in Tyre. Small streaks of light from Israel’s air defense system were also observed as the country tried to defend itself from the attack.
The noise was also heard in the video captured by NBC News, but it is not clear whether the sound was from the missiles colliding in mid-air or from the Iranian missiles landing in Israel.
Iran said it ended the attack about an hour after the IDF was first alerted that the missiles had been fired.
After the attack, the IDF said that approximately 180 rockets were fired into Israeli territory. No deaths were reported, but Israel’s emergency services said they were treating two people with minor shrapnel injuries.
A senior White House official and a Defense Department official told NBC News on Tuesday that U.S. officials warned earlier in the day that Iran was preparing a ballistic missile attack that would target Israel.
A spokesman for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden had authorized the military to help defend Israel against Iranian attacks and “shoot down missiles targeting Israel.”
Jordan has allowed US forces to fly over its airspace to shoot down Iranian missiles, a US official and a Jordanian official confirmed to NBC News.
The attack comes after Israel launched a large-scale offensive in Lebanon, including the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah, and a ground offensive in the country’s south.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” the White House 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.”
Officials said Iran is expected to target military and government facilities, not civilians.
Officials said it was expected to involve more firepower than Iran’s attack on Israel in April, when it launched hundreds of drones that took hours to reach Israel and then a series of ballistic missiles. The number of ballistic missiles could be higher this time, officials said, and Iran may try to launch multiple missiles simultaneously to overwhelm its air defense system.
The spokesman of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations did not comment on reports from the White House about the expected attack on Israel.
US officials have been waiting for a response from Iran since last week’s Israeli attacks on Hezbollah leadership. A devastating blow to Iran’s power of attorney in the region.
According to a senior White House official, Biden was updated on the possible Iranian attack on Israel and the general situation in the Middle East in the last few hours.
White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons said in an article in X that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the national security team about the threat of the attack.
“They reviewed the state of U.S. preparedness to help defend Israel against attacks and protect U.S. personnel,” Simons said.
Iran has told the United States it still does not want a wider war, the officials said.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the new president of Iran He told reporters this last week during his visit to New York for the General Assembly of the United Nations Expressing that Iran wants to live in peace, he said that the Islamic regime does not want war with Israel.
Pezeshkian did indeed blame Israel for the escalation of violence in the region, and his remarks came just days before the assassination of a key Israeli ally, Nasrullah.
Iran last attacked Israel in April. launching hundreds of drones and missiles after a significant social structure. It was a retaliatory attack after the attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, and the death of seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It took nearly two weeks for Iran to launch its attack and launch its weapons use took hours to reach Israelallowing the country and its allies to mobilize quickly.
A ballistic missile launched from Iran can reach Israel in 10 minutes American Jewish Committee.
On October 8, Hezbollah began shelling Israel in support of Hamas, Iran’s proxy, which is at war with Israel after a terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people. The group has since held a ceasefire with Israel and displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Israel has killed several members of Hezbollah’s senior leadership in Lebanon over the past few weeks, including Nasrullah. sabotaged means of communication conducted by members of the group. This has caused fear and instability in what was once considered Iran’s most powerful proxy militia.
Hezbollah was founded in the 1980s A response to Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon Like the Shiite resistance militias that gained domestic popularity in 2000 by fighting Israel’s presence in Lebanon.
But its leadership, while promoting itself as a group dedicated to Lebanese self-determination, has also vowed to remain loyal to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Hezbollah has been recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States since 1997. According to the State Department.
Israel announced a ground intervention in southern Lebanon on Monday night, hours before news of a potential attack from Iran emerged. The Israel Defense Forces issued a statement saying that it carried out targeted land raids on Lebanese villages located on the border with northern Israel.
Critics is skeptical of the descriptions Recalling that Israel’s ground operations are limited, recalling a similar characterization of the Israeli military’s operations in Rafah prior to the destruction of Gaza City. Others also mentioned that Israel In 1982, intervention in Lebanon was supposed to be limited In nature, only Israel’s military presence went as far as Beirut.
Israeli army spokesman Nadav Shoshani said on Tuesday that a ground operation in Beirut was “not on the table”.
“We are talking about limited, localized, targeted tariffs based on accurate intelligence in areas close to the border,” Shoshani said.