Iranian missiles struck Israel in retaliation for deadly Israeli attacks on nuclear sites and military leaders.
The wail of air raid sirens and the rumble of explosions could be heard throughout Israel on Friday, and Associated Press journalists documented explosions as Iranian rockets hit Tel Aviv, the commercial hub of Israel. Paramedics said five people were wounded.
Hours earlier and again Friday evening, Israel launched strikes across Iran that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing several top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
As the Iranian rockets descended on Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to let Israel “escape safely from this great crime.”
The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. For years, Israel had threatened such a strike and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran’s dispersed and hardened nuclear program.
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Here’s the latest:
Witnesses post videos of Iranian missile attack
Iranian missiles could be seen from as far away as Beirut, leaving behind yellow streaks like comets as they descended on Israel.
And in other videos posted on social media, the missiles burned fast through the air above Jerusalem’s Old City.
Associated Press journalists reported the rumbling of explosions sounded like a thunderstorm.
5 wounded in Israel by Iranian attack
Israeli paramedics report five people injured in the Tel Aviv area — one in moderate condition and four lightly injured by shrapnel.
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptor rockets light up the night sky
Video taken by AP journalists shows multiple Israeli interceptor rockets slicing through the night sky over Tel Aviv, trailing columns of smoke and occasionally exploding in balls of yellow fire. Some of the Iranian rockets hurtled downward in a straight line, and a few could be seen impacting in flashes of orange that lit up the glittering skyline of Israel’s commercial hub.
Iran’s supreme leader vows revenge for Israeli attacks
In a recorded message to the nation broadcast as Iranian missiles flew toward Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the military was prepared to counterattack.
“Don’t think that they (Israel) hit and it’s over. No. They started the work and started the war. We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” he said.
Air raid sirens sound across Israel amid Iranian missile attack
The rumble of explosions could be heard throughout Jerusalem, and Israeli TV stations showed plumes of smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The army said dozens of missiles were launched.
The army has ordered residents across the country to move into bomb shelters.
Israel says Iran has launched missiles
The Israeli military’s Home Front Command has instructed people to move into shelters ahead of an expected Iranian missile attack.
