Politics Iran attacks Israel with rockets
Iran has launched a missile attack on Israel. The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's elite military force, said it fired dozens of missiles at Israel. 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. A correspondent for the German Press Agency reported that strong explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv.
The Revolutionary Guards' air force reportedly targeted important military targets. At the same time, the Revolutionary Guards threatened further "devastating and destructive attacks" if Israel responded to the Iranian strike.
According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom reported that two people were slightly injured by shrapnel, while several others were treated for minor injuries after falling or for acute anxiety.
US government warned of imminent 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.
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
