Israel is vowing that Iran will face “consequences” for a barrage of about 200 missiles Tehran fired at Israel on Tuesday but said joint air defenses with the United States had been largely effective in intercepting the attack.
The promise of retaliation from Israel raises the danger of a heightened cycle of violence, just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is escalating his rhetoric against Tehran and threatening to undermine the Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership in what looks like a bid to reshape the balance of power in the Middle East.
Speaking at a televised address several hours after the attack, Netanyahu said Iran had made a “big mistake” and will “pay for it,” adding: “Those who attack us; we attack them.”
Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said some Iranian missiles had landed in central and southern Israel, but added the authorities were still assessing the full impact of the assault and called on citizens not to let the enemy know about targets hit in the meantime.
He insisted Israel would strike back at “the time and place of our choosing.”
In more general terms, Hagari said the Israeli military would continue to “strike powerfully” in the region overnight, just as it has done for the past year, in what appeared to be a reference to pressing ahead with an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi promised the response would come as a shock to Tehran. “We will choose when to exact the price, and prove our precise and surprising attack capabilities, in accordance with the guidance of the political echelon,” he said.
All in all, casualties from the waves of Iranian missiles appeared to be low, just like after an earlier attack in April. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said American destroyers joined IDF air defenses in downing incoming missiles, in an operation monitored by U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Israeli authorities said a Palestinian was killed by shrapnel near the city of Jericho in the West Bank from fragments of an intercepted rocket and that two people were lightly wounded by missiles shards in Tel Aviv. There were unconfirmed reports of a direct hit on a building in Tel Aviv, injuring another three people.
