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US Has Indications Iran Preparing to Launch Ballistic Missile Attack on Israel, White House Official Says

Unidentified men carrying a model of Iran’s first-ever hypersonic missile, Fattah, past a mosque during a gathering to celebrate a failed Iranian attack on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, on April 15, 2024. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel that could be at least as large as a strike that Tehran staged earlier this year, US officials said on Tuesday.

The United States is actively supporting preparations to defend Israel against a new Iranian missile attack, a senior White House official said.

“A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the official said.

A second US official said that the Iranian strike could be as large or potentially bigger than one that Tehran launched with missiles and drones in April.

That attack was in retaliation for what Iran called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, including two senior commanders.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US warning of a looming Iranian strike followed Israel‘s announcement that its forces staged raids into southern Lebanon in a limited incursion as it pursues two weeks of strikes against Hezbollah terrorists that have killed the Iran-backed group’s leader and senior commanders.

Israeli leaders have vowed to pursue operations against the terrorists until it is safe for civilians to return to their homes in northern Israel from which they were evacuated after Hezbollah began missile strikes on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas’ assault into Israel.

The Hamas assault triggered the ongoing Israeli offensive that has devastated Gaza.

The US military on Sunday warned Iran against expanding the conflict and said it was increasing air support capabilities in the region and putting troops on increased readiness.

The post US Has Indications Iran Preparing to Launch Ballistic Missile Attack on Israel, White House Official Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Six Killed in Jaffa Terror Shooting

Illustrative: Israeli troops guard, at the scene of a shooting, near Hebron, in the West Bank, August 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

JNS.org — Six people were killed in a terrorist shooting attack on Jerusalem Boulevard in Tel Aviv-Jaffa on Tuesday night, according to the Israel Police and Magen David Adom emergency response service.

Earlier, Hebrew media reported that eight victims died in the attack.

Three victims are in serious condition and additional people sustained wounds to “varying degrees,” Israel’s Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said in a statement on the incident.

United Hatzalah first responder Rom Ella said, “We were informed that there were injured people near the train station on Jerusalem Boulevard. Passersby told us that there were also injured people on nearby streets, and additional medics were there and continued to other scenes. Some of the injured people we treated were unconscious.”

Three Arab terrorists were reportedly killed at the scene.

The victims were evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center in the nearby city of Holon and Sourasky Tel Aviv Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital).

A police officer on the scene said the terrorist attack involved at least two gunmen who exited a train car and opened fire at people waiting at one of the light-rail stations on Jaffa’s Jerusalem Boulevard.

The post Six Killed in Jaffa Terror Shooting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Only Casualty of Mass Iranian Missile Attack is Palestinian Man in Jericho: Reports

A man was killed by missile shrapnel in the West Bank village of Nu’eima, near Jericho, amid the Iranian attack on Israel, according to Palestinian and Israeli media.

A Palestinian man in the West Bank village of Nu’eima, near Jericho was killed by missile shrapnel, possibly from an Arrow Missile or Iron Dome interceptor, during a massive Iranian missile attack against Israel, according to Israeli media outlet GLZ.

The man, whose name or age has not been released by Israeli or Palestinian authorities, is currently the only reported casualty of the Iranian attack against Israel.

Israeli rescue services said that only two people were lightly wounded by shrapnel in Tel Aviv amid the Iranian missile attack, while several others were treated for minor injuries after falling over while running or for acute anxiety.

Iran fired an unprecedented salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, forcing the Jewish state’s entire civilian population to take cover in bomb shelters.

“A short time ago missiles were launched from Iran into the territory of the State of Israel,” a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. “You are asked to be vigilant and act exactly according to the instructions of the Home Front Command. The IDF is doing and will do everything necessary to protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”

The IDF posted on X/Twitter that “all Israeli civilians” were sheltering from the Iranian attack.

Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley. Reuters journalists reported seeing missiles being intercepted in the airspace of neighboring Jordan.

According to initial Israeli Hebrew-language media reports, as many as 100 missiles had been launched.

“The air-defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment,” said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman. “However, the defense is not hermetic.”

Iran had initially vowed to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the assassination, although the Iranian regime blamed Jerusalem.

It was widely expected that Iran would launch a direct attack on Israel; however, no such attack ever came.

 

The post Only Casualty of Mass Iranian Missile Attack is Palestinian Man in Jericho: Reports first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran Launches Barrage of Ballistic Missiles at Israel

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, Oct. 1, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, forcing the Jewish state’s entire civilian population to take cover in bomb shelters.

“A short time ago missiles were launched from Iran into the territory of the State of Israel,” a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. “You are asked to be vigilant and act exactly according to the instructions of the Home Front Command. The IDF is doing and will do everything necessary to protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”

The IDF posted on X/Twitter that “all Israeli civilians” were sheltering from the Iranian attack.

Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley. Reuters journalists reported seeing missiles being intercepted in the airspace of neighboring Jordan.

According to Israeli army radio, nearly 200 missiles had been launched into Israel from Iran.

“The air-defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment,” said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman. “However, the defense is not hermetic.”

Israel‘s military later said Israelis were free to leave their shelters.

“Following the situational assessment, it was decided that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country,” the military said.

According to Hagari, the IDF was not immediately aware of any injuries resulting from the Iranian missile attack.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an Iranian military force and internationally designated terrorist organization with significant political and economic influence, said Iran had launched “tens of missiles” at Israel and that if Israel retaliated, Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous.”

Iran had initially vowed to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the assassination, although the Iranian regime blamed Jerusalem.

It was widely expected that Iran would launch a direct attack on Israel; however, no such attack ever came.

Then Iran said it would retaliate following Israeli airstrikes over the last two weeks that killed the top leaders of its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, including longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. IRGC deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the same strike as Nasrallah.

Iran backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, providing the Islamist terrorist groups with weapons, funding, and training.

“After a period of restraint, Iran has targeted the heart of the occupied territories with tens of missiles following the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh … the intensification of the Zionist regime’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, the martyrdom of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and [of] Guards Commander Abbas Nilforoushan,” the IRGC reportedly said.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the missile launches were ordered by Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that Tehran is “fully prepared” for an Israeli response. According to Reuters, Khamenei has remained in a secure location since the Israeli airstrikes on Beirut that killed Nasrallah last week.

Tuesday’s missile barrage came after Israel said its troops launched limited ground raids into neighboring Lebanon, where Iran’s chief proxy force Hezbollah wields significant influence and has been firing drones, missiles, and rockets at northern Israeli communities almost daily for the past year.

About 80,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate and flee their homes amid the relentless attacks. Israeli leaders have said they are committed to making it safe for the displaced citizens to return to their homes, even if that means using military force to push Hezbollah forces further away from the Israel-Lebanon border.

US officials had reportedly said earlier on Tuesday that they had indications Iran was preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel and that Washington was actively supporting preparations to defend the Jewish state, its closest Middle Eastern ally.

US President Joe Biden said the United States was prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian aggression.

“We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region,” Biden posted on X/Twitter about a meeting held with Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House national security team earlier in the day.

In April, Iran launched what was then an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli soil. In that attack, Iran fired some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, nearly all of which were downed by the Jewish state and its allies. The failed barrage was in retaliation for an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital of Damascus that killed seven IRGC members, including two senior commanders. One of the commanders allegedly helped plan the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. Israel neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the incident.

Iran’s latest attack came one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned nowhere in the Middle East was beyond its reach to strike.

This story is developing and will be updated.

The post Iran Launches Barrage of Ballistic Missiles at Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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