Israel says Iran fired 100 rockets into its territory｜Arab News Japan

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Tuesday that Iran had fired rockets and ordered residents to stay near bomb shelters as air raid sirens blared across the country.

Israel and the US have warned that an attack on Israel by Iran, which supports the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, would have serious consequences.

The order to seek shelter was sent to Israelis’ cellphones and announced on national television.

Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defense system was fully operational and had detected and intercepted threats. “However, the defense is not hermetic,” he said.

Iranian media began publishing videos that appeared to show missile launches at multiple locations across the country. However, the Iranian government did not immediately recognize what had happened.

The airstrike warnings in Israel came after a day of rocket attacks from Lebanon, where Israel said it had begun limited ground operations against Hezbollah.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire hit villages in southern Lebanon from which people were ordered to evacuate. Hezbollah fighters responded by firing rockets at Israel. There was no immediate number of casualties as fighting intensified and concerns grew about a wider regional war.

A senior White House official warned of “serious consequences” if Iran fires a ballistic missile against Israel. US ships and aircraft are stationed in the region to support Israel in the event of an attack from Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also warned of consequences if Iran fired missiles at Israel.

He urged the public to stay near protected areas. “The Iranian attack could be far-reaching. Following Home Front Command guidelines can save lives,” he said.

Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a US-led coalition, others apparently failed to take off or crashed in flight.

While Hezbollah denied that Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, the Israeli army said it had also carried out dozens of ground attacks in southern Lebanon for almost a year. Israel released video footage purporting to show its soldiers operating in houses and tunnels where Hezbollah stores weapons.

If true, it would be another humiliating blow to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the Middle East. Hezbollah suffered weeks of targeted attacks that killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders.

On Tuesday morning, Israel warned people to evacuate north of the Awali River, about 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and much further than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a United Nations-declared zone known as The zone is intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.

The border region has largely emptied over the past year due to a firefight between the two sides. But the scope of the evacuation warning raises questions about how far Israel plans to send its troops into Lebanon.

An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building near Beirut on Tuesday, causing damage, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. The attack apparently hit an apartment about 100 meters from the Iranian embassy.

In anticipation of further Hezbollah rocket attacks, the Israeli army announced new restrictions on public gatherings and closed beaches in northern and central Israel. The military also said it had called up thousands more reserve soldiers for deployment on the northern border.

Questions have been raised about the entry of Israeli forces

An Associated Press reporter saw Israeli troops operating in armored trucks near the border and helicopters circling overhead, but could not confirm that ground troops had entered Lebanon.

Ahead of Israel’s announcement of an invasion, US officials said on Monday that Israel had described launching small ground attacks in Lebanon to prepare for a broader operation.

Neither the Lebanese army nor a UN peacekeeping force patrolling southern Lebanon have confirmed the entry of Israeli forces. The UN force said a cross-border operation would be a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif rejected what he said were “false claims” about an Israeli invasion. He said Hezbollah was ready for “a direct confrontation with hostile forces that dare or attempt to enter Lebanon.”

Hagari claimed troops were carrying out “local ground attacks” on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon to ensure Israeli citizens could return to their homes in the north.

“We’re not going to Beirut,” he said.

Israel has said it will continue attacks on Hezbollah until a safe return is possible for its citizens. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

He said Israel had carried out dozens of small raids in Lebanon since October 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel after the war broke out in Gaza.

Hagari said Israeli forces crossed the border to collect intelligence and destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. Israel said Hezbollah was preparing its own October 7-style attack on Israel. It was not immediately possible to confirm these claims.

An Israeli military official said troops involved in the latest raid were within walking distance of the border and focused on villages hundreds of meters (yards) from Israel. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said there were no clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

The Israeli military was accused of lying to the media in 2021 when it released a statement saying ground troops had entered the Gaza Strip. The military played down the incident as a misunderstanding, but well-informed military commentators in Israel said it was part of a ruse to lure Hamas into the fight.

Israel attacks more targets and Hezbollah fires rockets

The Israeli military official said Hezbollah fired rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens and wounding one man. Hezbollah said it fired volleys of a new medium-range missile at the headquarters of two Israeli intelligence agencies near Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military official said Hezbollah also fired projectiles at Israeli communities near the border, targeting soldiers without hurting anyone.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel shortly after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Israel launched retaliatory air strikes and the conflict steadily escalated. In recent weeks, Israel has unleashed a devastating wave of air strikes on large parts of Lebanon.

Hagari said the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 was not enforced and that southern Lebanon was teeming with “terrorists and Hezbollah weapons.”

This resolution called for Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the area between the border and the Litani River and for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to patrol the area. Israel says these and other provisions were never enforced. Lebanon has long accused Israel of violating other provisions of the resolution.

Israeli official says there are no plans to march on Beirut

The military statements suggested that Israel could focus its ground operations on the narrow strip along the border rather than launching a larger invasion aimed at destroying Hezbollah, as it attempted against Hamas in Gaza.

Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and any escalation has raised fears of a larger war in the Middle East that could attract Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon in the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

Hezbollah is a well-trained militia believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate, and both sides have spent the last two decades preparing for their next showdown.

Recent airstrikes that wiped out much of Hezbollah’s leadership and the explosions of hundreds of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies suggest that Israel has penetrated deep into the group’s upper echelons.

The group’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, said in a televised statement on Monday that Hezbollah commanders killed in recent weeks had already been replaced.

As fighting intensifies, European countries have begun withdrawing their diplomats and citizens from Lebanon.