Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, forcing the entire civilian population of the country to be ordered into bomb shelters, the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday.
The extent of the attack is not yet known. Iran fired more than 200 missiles, Hebrew-language media reported. Three people were reported lightly wounded.
At 8:26 p.m., the IDF sent out phone alerts saying that at this stage, everyone could leave their protected spaces.
“A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel,” the IDF stated. “You are instructed to remain alert and precisely follow the Home Front Command’s instructions.”
The IDF wrote on X/Twitter that “all Israeli civilians” are sheltering from the attack.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman, asked Israelis to remain vigilant.
“The air-defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment,” he said. “However, the defense is not hermetic.”
Three Israeli officials told The New York Times that the feared assault could involve suicide drones and missiles fired towards the Jewish state.
One U.S. official told the Times it would involve ballistic missiles, while another said that it was unclear what kind of attack would be launched.
The targets of the Iranian attack are believed to be three Israeli Air Force bases, as well as an IDF military intelligence headquarters just north of Tel Aviv, which was reportedly evacuated on Tuesday afternoon.
Israel informed Washington that an attack from Iran was imminent earlier on Tuesday. A direct Iranian attack on Israel will carry “severe consequences” for the Islamic Republic, a senior White House official told JNS.
“A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the White House official added.
In April, Iran conducted its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory, launching some 300 missiles and drones, the vast majority of which were shot down in a multinational effort. It said it attacked in retaliation for an April 1 strike that killed a top Iranian general in Damascus.
In recent months, Iran and its allies have vowed to avenge the alleged Israeli killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s “political” bureau, and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated by Israel on Sept. 27.
The United States Embassy in Jerusalem reportedly sent its employees home on Tuesday afternoon and told them to be prepared to enter bomb shelters, the first such order given since the April attack.
