Iran launches missile attacks on Israel, 8 Israeli soldiers killed

The Israel’s military later sounded the all-clear and said Israelis were free to leave their shelters.

Iran launched missiles at Israel on Tuesday as alarms sounded across the country and civilians rushed for shelter.

Iran said the attack on Israel was a response to the killings of Guards commander and other leaders.

The Israel’s military later sounded the all-clear and said Israelis were free to leave their shelters. It vowed retaliation against Iran “at place and time we decide”.

The Iran Guards, meanwhile, threatened ‘crushing attacks’ if Israel responded to the missile attack.

Earlier, the Israel military had announced that any ballistic missile strike from Iran was expected to be widespread and told the public to shelter in safe rooms in the event of an attack.

The firing of missiles came after Israeli troops launched ground raids into Lebanon, in the biggest escalation of regional warfare since fighting erupted in Gaza a year ago.

President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Wednesday that Iran was “not looking for war” but pledged a stronger response if Israel retaliates for its missile attack.

“If it (Israel) wants to react, we will have a stronger response, this is what the Islamic Republic is committed to,” Masoud Pezeshkian said in a joint press conference with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha.

“We are not looking for war, it is Israel that forces us to react,” he said.

Masoud Pezeshkian spoke a day after Iran fired about 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons towards Israel, sending frightened civilians into shelters.

The United States and G7 members “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel, the White House said Wednesday, and are considering new sanctions.

President Joe Biden held a call with G7 members to discuss Iran’s “unacceptable” attack and to coordinate a response “including new sanctions,” the White House statement said.

The G7 on Wednesday vowed to work together to reduce tensions in the Middle East and said a diplomatic solution to widening conflict “is still possible”.

A statement released from Italy – which holds the G7 presidency – said the G7 “reiterated that a conflict on a regional scale is in no one’s interest and that a diplomatic solution is still possible.”

Lebanese group Hezbollah said it destroyed three Israeli tanks on Wednesday as they advanced towards a Lebanese border village.

The Iran-backed group said it “destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced towards the village of Maroun al-Ras,” referring to an area where they reported clashes with Israeli troops earlier in the day.

Israel said on Wednesday eight of its soldiers were killed in combat in South Lebanon as its forces pushed into its northern neighbour in a campaign against the Hezbollah armed group.

The losses were the deadliest suffered by the Israeli military on the Lebanon front in the past year of clashes between Israel and its Iran-backed Lebanese adversary.

Hezbollah said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday, reporting ground clashes for the first time since Israel began its ground advance.

Delhi Police has tightened security around the Israel Embassy in Tughlak Road area after the tension increased in the middle east.

A senior Delhi Police officer said the checking has been intensified with the deployment of more security personnel around the Israel Embassy located at Tughlak Road area.

The officer said a multi-layered security has already been put in place with several CCTV cameras installed around both structures as the embassy has witnessed blasts twice earlier, though no one was injured in any of the incidents.

Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he was barring U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres from entering the country for his failure to “unequivocally condemn” Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel.

Hezbollah said Wednesday it clashed with Israeli soldiers who tried to infiltrate into Lebanon, and also targeted Israeli troops across the border, according to statements from the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

Hezbollah fighters confronted “an Israeli enemy infantry force that tried to infiltrate into the village of Adaysseh… and clashed with them… and forced them to withdraw”, a statement said.

Hezbollah also said its fighters targeted “a large infantry force” in Misgav Am across the border with “rockets and artillery”, as well as troop gatherings in three other locations, one with Burkan rockets.

Israel since last week has been heavily bombarding Lebanon, particularly the south, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites.