Politics Iran attacks Israel with almost 200 rockets

Iran has massively attacked Israel. According to initial estimates by the Israeli army, around 180 rockets were fired on Tuesday evening. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards declared that the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general, according to state television. According to initial reports, one person was killed in the West Bank and two injured in Tel Aviv.

According to the Israeli army, several bullets hit the center and other places in Israel. A correspondent for the German Press Agency reported that strong explosions were heard in Tel Aviv. US President Joe Biden instructed the US military to support Israel and shoot down Iranian missiles.

After about an hour, the all-clear was given in the evening. People throughout Israel were allowed to leave their shelters and bunkers again, according to the military. A spokesperson added that there were currently no indications of further threats from Iran.

"This attack will have consequences," warned Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari. There are already plans for this.

One dead in the West Bank, two injured in Tel Aviv

According to Palestinian reports, one man was killed in the rocket attack in the West Bank. The 38-year-old Palestinian was killed by rocket fragments in Jericho, according to the Palestinian civil defense and local media. The victim was originally from the Gaza Strip.

In the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, two people were slightly injured by shrapnel in the attack, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service. Several others were treated for minor injuries after falling or for acute anxiety.

Shortly before the rocket attack, several people were killed in a gun and knife attack in the south of Tel Aviv. According to police, at least six people were killed in the attack in Jaffa, an Arab-dominated neighborhood. The fatalities were civilians.

Threat from Iran of "devastating attacks"

According to their own account, the Revolutionary Guards' air force had fired on important military targets in Israel. At the same time, the Revolutionary Guards threatened further "devastating and destructive attacks" if Israel responded to the Iranian strike.

Following the rocket attack, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the parties to the conflict to exercise restraint: "This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire," wrote Guterres on Platform X.

US government warned of attack

Prior to this, the US government had warned of an "imminent" missile attack by Iran on Israel. Such a direct attack would have serious consequences for Iran, according to a statement from a government representative obtained by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Following the warning of the missile attack, the Israeli authorities had instructed people in the greater Tel Aviv area to stay close to shelters.

The Iranian attack could be large-scale, army spokesman Daniel Hagari warned before the attack. The air defense systems were fully prepared and Israeli Air Force planes were patrolling the skies. Defense Minister Joav Galant had discussed the situation with Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and high-ranking officials in the evening.

In April, Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had already carried out a direct attack on Israel for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic. The IRGC air force fired more than 300 drones, missiles and cruise missiles at its arch-enemy. The attack was successfully repelled. This was Iran's response to the killing of high-ranking generals who had previously been killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Syria.

Recent significant weakening of Iran's allies

Israel's military and intelligence services have recently considerably weakened Iran's allies in the region. At the end of July, the foreign head of the Islamist Hamas was killed in Tehran. Iran's leadership then vowed revenge. Last Friday, Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, another key ally of Tehran, was killed. Previously, exploding radio receivers, so-called pagers, had injured hundreds of Hezbollah officials and also killed a number of them. Since then, it has been unclear whether and how Iran's military leadership will react.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military took a further step: for the first time in almost two decades, Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon again. Around a year after the start of the Gaza war, the focus of the fighting has thus shifted towards the northern neighboring country. The army spoke of "limited" attacks near the border on targets of the Shiite Hezbollah, which is closely allied with Iran.

Bonfire in Beirut

After the Iranian missile attack, the Lebanese capital Beirut erupted in jubilation. Shots of joy could be heard from the suburb of Haret Hreik, where Israel had killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, as eyewitnesses reported. Clapping and cheering could also be heard in the center of Beirut, where many families displaced by Israel's attacks in the country are currently holding out in the streets and public squares.

Since the 1979 revolution, the USA and Israel have been considered arch-enemies of the Islamic Republic. With the outbreak of the Gaza war just under a year ago, there were several threats that the shadow conflict would develop into a conflagration. Iran's Revolutionary Guards are the country's elite fighting force and are considered to be significantly more powerful than the regular army.

SDA