Pius Nsabe
The Israeli military has warned that “all of Israel is under fire” after Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on Friday, following Israel’s attacks on Iranian military and nuclear targets.
Iran confirmed Friday evening local time that it had fired “hundreds of various ballistic missiles” towards Israel, in what it called the “beginning” of its “crushing response.”
“Moments ago, with the launch of hundreds of various ballistic missiles toward the occupied territories, the operation of a decisive response to the savage attack of the Zionist regime has begun,” Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported.
Warning sirens sounded across Israel on Friday and a military official told CBS News that dozens of Iranian ballistic missiles were en route to Israel. The country’s population has been instructed to remain in bomb shelters until further notice.
Israel has a robust missile defense system known as the Iron Dome, which appeared to have intercepted numerous missiles, but newsmen said several sites in Tel Aviv appeared to have been hit. The extent of any damage is not yet clear. Video and photos showed a building in Tel Aviv on fire.
CNN’s teams in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem could hear large explosions, and video from Tel Aviv showed incoming rockets and smoke rising amid the city’s skyscrapers.
Seven people were “lightly and moderately injured” following an Iranian strike that hit on the border of Tel Aviv and the city of Ramat Gan in Israel, according to the head of Israel’s emergency services, Eli Bin.
Images and video released by Magen David Adom, Israel’s affiliate of the Red Cross, showed civil defense workers surveying mangled cars and collapsed building facades in central Israel.
The Iranian barrage came after Israel launched a massive two-pronged attack on Iran early Friday morning local time, with strikes aimed at destroying Iranian nuclear sites and decapitating its military leadership in Tehran.
Israel’s attack culminated years of threats and days of heightened speculation – but was executed without the blessing of Israel’s closest ally: the United States. The Trump administration has stressed that Israel acted unilaterally and that Washington was “not involved.”
Iran’s retaliation Friday evening began just as a press briefing with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials was underway.
Effie Defrin, spokesperson for the IDF, was answering questions from journalists when an announcement was played over a speakerphone. The broadcast of the briefing was then cut short.
Defense systems were activated to intercept the missiles, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces, which instructed the public to seek shelter.