JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.
The orange glow of missiles streaked across Israel’s night sky as air raid sirens sounded and residents scrambled into bomb shelters. Israel vowed retaliation for Iran’s barrage, which it said had caused only a few injuries.
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. Israel’s national rescue service said two people were lightly wounded by shrapnel. 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.”...
...A high-ranking Iranian commander warned Iran would hit Israel’s entire infrastructure if the Jewish state takes any action against its territory. Iran’s armed forces joint chief of staff Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said the Revolutionary Guard was prepared defensively and offensively to repeat Tuesday’s attack with “multiplied intensity.”...
...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.
