Iran fires at least 180 missiles into Israel as regionwide conflict grows

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of rapidly escalating attacks between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. Iran said the barrage was retaliation for a series of devastating blows Israel has landed in recent weeks against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began. Earlier Tuesday, Israel launched what it said is a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defenses intercepted many of the incoming Iranian missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel. In the West Bank, Palestinian officials said a Palestinian man was killed by a missile that fell near the town of Jericho, though it wasn’t clear where the attack originated. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate against Iran, which he said “made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it.” Iran’s armed forces joint chief of staff Gen. Mohammad Bagheri warned that Iran would respond to action against its territory with strikes on Israel’s entire infrastructure with “multiplied intensity.” Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire pounded southern Lebanese villages on Tuesday, and Hezbollah responded with a barrage of rockets into Israel. Moments before Iran launched its missiles, a shooting attack in Tel Aviv left at least six people dead, police said, adding that the two suspects who had opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa neighborhood had also been killed. Fears of a broader conflict Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and each escalation has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Iran’s missile attack a “significant escalation,” although he said it was ultimately “defeated and ineffective,” in part because of assistance from the U.S. military in shooting down some of the inbound missiles. Iran said it fired Tuesday’s missiles as retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. It referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July. Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza with Hamas, which is also supported by Iran. Questions raised over whether Israeli forces entered While Hezbollah denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, the Israeli army announced it had also carried out dozens of covert ground raids into southern Lebanon going back nearly a year. On Tuesday morning, Israel warned people in southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a U.N.-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war. An Associated Press reporter saw Israeli troops operating near the border in armored trucks, with helicopters circling overhead, but could not confirm ground forces had crossed into Lebanon. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has seen sporadic incursions by Israeli military forces, but “they have not witnessed a full-scale invasion.” Ahead of the Israeli announcement of an incursion, U.S. officials on Monday said Israel had described launching small raids inside Lebanon as it prepared for a wider operation. Hagari, the Israeli army spokesman, said Israel had carried out dozens of small raids inside Lebanon since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel after the outbreak of the war in Gaza. He said Israeli forces had crossed the border to collect information and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. The military played down the incident as a misunderstanding, but well-sourced military commentators in Israel said it was part of a ruse to lure Hamas into battle. Israel strikes more targets and Hezbollah fires rockets The Israeli military said Hezbollah had launched rockets at central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens and wounding a man. Hezbollah also launched projectiles at Israeli communities near the border, targeting soldiers without wounding anyone. Israel’s statements indicated it might focus its ground operation on the narrow strip along the border, rather than launching a larger invasion aimed at destroying Hezbollah, as it has attempted in Gaza against Hamas. Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Israel declared war against the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. The group’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, said Monday that Hezbollah commanders killed in recent weeks have already been replaced. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://apnews.com/eb175dff6e46906caea8b9e43dfbd3da