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Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday in what it said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others – potentially taking the region closer to a wider conflict.
CNN teams on the ground in multiple locations in Israel observed dozens of missiles piercing through the skies as sirens blasted across the country.
Israel’s military said it estimated that Iran fired 180 “projectiles” at the country. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called the barrage was a “serious attack” and said “there will be serious consequences.”
The IDF said it intercepted many of the missiles, although some landed on the ground in Israel with no injuries initially reported. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said later on Tuesday that the attack by Iran was “effectively defeated.”
While the attack was over relatively quickly, it is clear that it has further raised the stakes in what is already an extremely tense moment. World leaders have long warned the conflict between Israel and Iran’s proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon could spiral into a wider regional war. All eyes will now be on how Israel responds.
Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza since the deadly October 7 terrorist attack by the group on southern Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with much of the strip reduced to rubble.
And while Israel and Hezbollah have been trading cross-border fire for much of the past year, Iran launched the barrage on Tuesday just hours after Israel announced it launched a “limited and localized” ground operation in Lebanon.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted Israel in response to the killing of Nasrallah and others, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
After the barrage of missiles was launched, the Iranian mission to the United Nations said that Tehran carried out a response” – CNN | Posted by Thrillz