AT least 8 people were killed and 100 others injured in Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa during a series of retaliatory attacks by Iran, launched in response to Israeli strikes on its nuclear and ballistic missile programme.
Officials said the attack occurred before dawn on Monday, June 16, destroying several homes.
Emergency services said search and rescue operations were ongoing in Haifa, where around 30 people were injured, as dozens of first responders rushed to the impacted areas.
The ICIR reported that Israel’s military targeted Iran’s nuclear and military sites through airstrikes last Friday.
Israel announced on Monday that it had killed four senior intelligence officials, including the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organisation.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that the latest attack used a new tactic that caused Israel’s multi-layered defence systems to interfere with one another, allowing Tehran to strike numerous targets successfully.
While there were no confirmed reports of interceptor missiles colliding, Israeli officials acknowledged that their defence systems were not foolproof and cautioned that more difficult days lay ahead.
Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement: “The arrogant dictator of Tehran has become a cowardly murderer who targets the civilian home front in Israel to deter the IDF from continuing the attack that is collapsing his capabilities.”
“The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.” Katz later issued a separate statement saying that Israel had no intention of deliberately harming Tehran’s residents.
Israeli authorities reported that out of the fewer than 100 missiles fired by Iran overnight, only seven landed in Israel. A military spokesperson added that Israel had destroyed over one-third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.