Israel strikes Iran Live Updates: Iran president says Tehran will give 'appropriate response' to Israeli attack

The United Nations Security Council is set to convene on Monday to address Israel's recent assault on Iran, as announced by Switzerland, the current council president, on Sunday.

Iran, backed by Algeria, China, and Russia, called for the meeting, according to the Swiss UN mission.

In a letter addressed to the 15-member council on Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, "Israeli regime's actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security and further destabilize an already fragile region."

Araqchi further asserted, "The Islamic Republic of Iran, in alignment with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and under international law, reserves its inherent right to legal and legitimate response to these criminal attacks at the appropriate time."

Iran is not looking for war but will give an "appropriate response" to Israel's recent attack, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday according to state media.

On Sunday, Hezbollah announced that it launched a rocket attack targeting northern Israel, just one day after declaring the region a "legitimate target" due to the presence of Israeli military personnel in the area. The Lebanese organization, which has been engaged in conflict with Israel since the previous month and is supported by Iran, stated that it specifically targeted a "military industries base north of Haifa... with a large rocket salvo".

This recent attack is not an isolated incident, as Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for similar strikes against military bases and defense industry facilities in the vicinity of Haifa, a significant city in northern Israel, since the end of September.

In addition to the rocket fire on the area north of Haifa, Hezbollah also asserted that it conducted rocket attacks on Nahariya and launched drone strikes near Acre, both of which are located to the north of Haifa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, during an official memorial ceremony marking Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, was disrupted by the relatives of Hamas attack victims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at a memorial ceremony for the victims of last year's Hamas attack on southern Israel was interrupted by protesters on Sunday. The demonstrators, who shouted "Shame on you" and caused a disturbance, compelled Netanyahu to halt his address shortly after it commenced. The significant commemorative event was being televised live throughout the nation.

A significant portion of the Israeli population holds Netanyahu accountable for the shortcomings that resulted in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. They also consider him responsible for not securing the release of the remaining hostages still in the custody of the militant organization in Gaza.

Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant, made a statement on Sunday during a memorial ceremony held in Jerusalem, asserting that Iran's ability to utilize its proxy groups, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, against Israel has been significantly diminished.

"Over the past year, the security establishment led by the Israel Defense Forces turned the tide of the war and had unprecedented achievements in all arenas of fighting," Gallant remarked, highlighting the success of Israel's military efforts.

According to Gallant, Hamas has lost its capacity to operate as a military network within the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, he stated that Hezbollah's leadership and the majority of its missile arsenal have been eliminated.

"We promised we would respond to the Iranian attack and on Saturday we struck. The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives," the Israeli PM said. "The regime must understand one simple thing," he continued, "whoever harms us, we will harm them."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an urgent warning on Sunday, instructing residents of multiple villages in southern Lebanon to vacate the area without delay. The military cautioned that it intends to carry out strikes against Hezbollah positions in the region.

In an X post, Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesperson, listed over a dozen villages in south Lebanon and emphasized, "For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Awali River."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces hit hard Iran's ability to defend itself and to produce missiles when its air force struck two nights ago.

"The air force attacked throughout Iran. We hit hard Iran's defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed at us," Netanyahu said in a speech.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that Israel's air attack on Iran was "precise and powerful".
"We promised we would respond to the Iranian attack and on Saturday we struck. The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives," Netanyahu said in a speech marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s strikes “severely harmed” Iran and that the barrage “achieved all its goals.”
He spoke Sunday, a day after Israeli warplanes hit several military targets in Iran in retaliation for an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month.

The Lebanese health ministry on Sunday, reported that a minimum of three individuals lost their lives due to an Israeli airstrike targeting Zawtar Al Sharkiya, located in the southern region of Lebanon. The ministry further stated that an additional airstrike, which occurred in Marjayoun on the preceding day, claimed the lives of five people and left one person injured.

The airstrikes have resulted in a total of eight fatalities and one injury, according to the information provided by the health ministry.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalia killed several people and wounded others on Sunday morning, Palestinian medics say, as Israeli forces stepped up their campaign in northern Gaza.

Medics said the new strike damaged several houses in Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, which has been the focus of an Israeli military offensive for more than three weeks.

Israel says its forces have returned to northern Gaza more than a year into the war with Hamas to root out the militant group's fighters who had regrouped there. It said on Friday that three of its soldiers were killed in combat in the north of the enclave.

The Israeli military said in a statement it has "eliminated over 40 terrorists" in the Jabalia area in the past 24 hours, as well as dismantling infrastructure and locating "large quantities of military equipment".

In addition, Israel said its forces had eliminated a "terrorist cell" during a close-quarter encounter in central Gaza.

Meanwhile, the death toll from an Israeli airstrike late on Saturday on a residential district in the nearby town of Beit Lahiya rose to 40 on Sunday morning, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

The Israeli military said it had carried out "a precise strike using precise munitions on Hamas terrorists within a structure in the area of Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip. A number of terrorists have been hit in the strike."

The Israeli military on Sunday said four soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, bringing to 36 the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of ground operations on September 30.

The soldiers "fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement, adding that they were killed on Saturday

Israel emergency service says dozens of casualties as truck hits bus stop

Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran's power to Israel after the Israeli attack on Iran two nights ago, Iran's official IRNA news agency cited the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying on Sunday

Israelis on Sunday mark the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

Separate ceremonies will be held at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem for the armed forces personnel and the civilians killed in the attack, with top officials expected to attend both.

Flags were flown at half-mast on public buildings, including the parliament, which marked the start of the attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The attack sparked retaliatory Israeli bombardment and ground fighting that has killed 42,924 Palestinians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the UN considers reliable.

"This war of a nation seeking to be free on its territory comes at a high cost... Today, we commemorate all those who fell on that day that the war broke out or in the year of fighting that followed," military chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said, according to a statement.

Two ceremonies were held on October 7, one official and another organised by the families of victims, to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack.

But the government also decided to hold a day of mourning around the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the attack.

Israel has been waging a massive air and ground offensive in northern Gaza since Oct. 6, after saying that Hamas militants had regrouped there. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza City in the latest wave of displacement in the yearlong war.

Israel says its strikes on Gaza only target militants, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants fight in densely populated areas. The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

Aid groups have warned of a catastrophic situation in northern Gaza, which was the first target of Israel's ground offensive and had already suffered the heaviest destruction of the war. Israel has severely limited the entry of basic humanitarian aid in recent weeks, and the three remaining hospitals in the north — one of which was raided over the weekend — say they have been overwhelmed by waves of wounded people.

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday said that ongoing Israeli evacuation orders and restrictions on the entry of essential supplies to the north had left the civilian population in “horrific circumstances.”

“Many civilians are currently unable to move, trapped by fighting, destruction or physical constraint and now lack access to even basic medical care,” it said.

Egypt, Turkey, and Tunisia expressed concerns about the dangerous and accelerating escalation in the Middle East, the latest of which was the Israeli attack on Iran.

The Egyptian foreign ministry reaffirmed its condemnation of all measures that threaten regional stability and security, exacerbate the already fragile regional situation, and fuel tension and conflict in a statement on Saturday.

It said Egypt is brokering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stressing the release of prisoners and hostages is the only path to de-escalation.

The ministry, in addition, renewed Egypt's calls for respecting Lebanon's territorial sovereignty and immediately ending hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, according to Xinhua news agency.

In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry also condemned in the "strongest terms" Israel's attack on Iran, accusing Israel of bringing the region to the brink of a "wider war."

Oil prices are expected to fall when trading resumes on Monday as Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear infrastructure and did not disrupt energy supplies, analysts said.

Brent and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 4% last week in volatile trade as markets priced in uncertainty around the extent of Israel's response to the Iranian missile attack on Oct. 1 and the US election next month.

Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle East rivals.

"The market can breathe a big sigh of relief; the known unknown that was Israel's eventual response to Iran has been resolved," Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx said on LinkedIn.

"Israel attacked after the departure of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the US administration could not have hoped for a better outcome with U.S. elections less than two weeks away."

Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage.

Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 22 people, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said that 11 women and two children were among those killed in the strikes late Saturday in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has been waging a massive air and ground offensive in northern Gaza for the last three weeks, after saying that Hamas militants had regrouped there. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza City in the latest wave of displacement in the yearlong war.

The Israeli attack in Iran has drawn both criticism and applause at home from across the political spectrum.

Israeli minister of national security Itamar Ben Gvir, who criticized Israel's restrained response to the Iranian attack in April, wrote a more positive post on his X account this time, saying that the strike "was a good beginning in order to target Iran's strategic assets, which needs to be the next phase." He added, "We have a historic duty to remove the Iranian threat."

The attack was also praised by opposition leader Yair Golan, head of the Israeli Labor Party, for "harming Iran's defensive and offensive capabilities without dragging us into a war of attrition."

However, the strike was criticized for not inflicting serious damage to either Iranian economics by striking oil reserves or to Iran's nuclear program.

Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition, wrote on Saturday on his X account that Iran should have "paid a much heavier price" and that "the decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong."

Tally Gotliv, a member of the Knesset from Netanyahu's governing Likud party, used even stronger words, saying that "Not striking Iran's nuclear facilities will be a cause for regret for generations. Not striking Iran's oil reserves is a grave mistake." She added, "Unfortunately, this is submission to the Biden administration which doesn't think for a moment about Israel's interests."

On Saturday, Israel struck a number of military targets in Iran in response to the Iranian attack on October 1. The Israeli attack in the early hours of Saturday morning was carried out by air force, striking, among other targets, missile manufacturing facilities.

The Prime Minister's office issued a denial of Hebrew media report arguing that Israel initially planned to strike Iran's oil and natural gas facilities, but changed its plan after persistent US pressure. "Israel chose the targets ahead of time, based on its national interests," said the PMO, "and not based on American directives."

"Israel did not notify Iran before the attack -- not about the timing, not about the targets, and not about the scale of the attack," said another statement from the Prime Minister's office. (ANI)

Israel’s assault on Iran early Saturday, coordinated with Washington and limited to missile and air defense sites, was more restrained than many expected and may help diplomatic efforts to return hostages and limit the combat in both Lebanon and Gaza. Israel held off until US secretary of state Antony Blinken returned to Washington from four days of consultations with Israeli and Arab allies.

In a set of sorties under cover of darkness, and likely over hostile territories including Syria and Iraq, dozens of Israeli warplanes flew thousands of kilometres. Refuelling in midair, they targeted military sites in three provinces in retaliation for Iran’s firing of ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct 1.

Israel distributed videos of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military chiefs coordinating from a defence ministry bunker, a rare acknowledgment of an attack on the Islamic Republic and an expansion of what has been until now mostly a shadow war. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said four people were killed, all with the country’s military air defence. The strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiralling violence across the Middle East.

US President Joe Biden told reporters Israel gave him a heads-up before the strikes and said it looked like “they didn’t hit anything but military targets”. He said he had just finished a call with intelligence officials. “I hope this is the end,” he said.

Israel’s restraint let Iran dismiss the retaliation as ineffective, possibly setting the stage for a restrained response or no response at all. Iran’s first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref, posted on his X account, “Iran’s power has humiliated the enemies of the motherland,” while state TV interviewed children going to school and people exercising. The official Tasnim news agency spoke only of “reserving right to respond.”

Iran hadn’t faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq. Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militants and the country’s nuclear programme. “We are focused on our war objectives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a wider regional escalation,” Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said.

Iran's army has said the number of soldiers killed in the Israeli strike has risen to four after two more soldiers succumbed to their wounds.

In a statement published on Saturday on its public relations website, the army identified the two personnel as Sajjad Mansouri and Mehdi Naqavi, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran's army said two of its soldiers, named Hamzeh Jahandideh and Mohammad Mehdi Shahrokhifar, "attained martyrdom" in the Israeli strike.

The army said the two fighters "sacrificed their lives" while countering Israel's projectiles to defend Iran's security and prevent harm to the country's people and interests.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early Saturday that it launched "precise and targeted" airstrikes on targets in several areas in Iran in response to the attacks from Iran in recent months.

Two Syrian soldiers were killed, and five others wounded in Israeli airstrikes targeting Lebanon-Syria border areas, Lebanese military sources said.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Israel launched air raids near the Matraba border crossing on the northern border city of Hermel, leading to casualties on the Syrian side of this crossing.

At least 30 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli bombing of the town of Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip, media reported.

The Israeli army shelled a residential square that includes at least five houses, and the victims included women and children, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA said on Saturday.

Israel's attack Saturday on Iranian military sites was closely watched abroad amid concerns that the region was sliding toward a full-scale war. At home, leading politicians -- both inside and outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition -- lamented the strikes as not aggressive enough.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's hard-line national security minister, for example, said the Israeli strikes on Iran should serve as an "opening blow."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed the United States on Saturday as a "true ally" of Israel when it comes to mutual cooperation, in remarks that followed the strikes on Iran.

Applauding Israel's strikes on Iran, Herzog said: "I especially wish to thank our great friend the USA for being a true ally, and for the overt and covert cooperation," he said in a statement without elaborating.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir welcomed Saturday's strikes against military targets in Iran, but said a "historic obligation" remained to remove the threat posed by Tehran.

"The attack on Iran is important as an opening blow to damage Iran's strategic assets," Ben Gvir wrote on X, adding: "We have a historic obligation to remove the Iranian threat to destroy Israel".

Former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz also hailed the strikes.

"It marks a new stage in our war against the Iranian regime, inflicting significant damage in response to their failed attempts to harm Israel while also importantly paving the way for future operations," Gantz said in a statement.

He said the strikes on Iran are "nothing more than a fraction of the harm Israel can inflict on the regime, should it choose to continue its aggression".

Gantz quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in June over its lack of a post-war plan for Gaza, where the Israeli military has been locked in a campaign against Hamas militants since their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. (AFP)

Israeli warplanes attacked Iran from Iraqi airspace, Iran's mission to the UN said on Saturday, blaming the United States for what it called its complicity.

"Iraqi airspace is under the occupation, command and control of the U.S. military. Conclusion: The U.S. complicity in this crime is certain," the Iran UN mission said in a post on X.

Iran's military said Saturday that only radar systems were damaged in pre-dawn Israeli strikes on Tehran and other provinces.

"Thanks to the timely performance of the country's air defences, the attacks caused limited damage and a few radar systems were damaged," the armed forces general staff said in a statement read out on state television. (AFP)

Iran on Saturday condemned Israel's precision strikes on its military sites and termed it "acts of aggression" and "blatant violation of international law."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," claiming the retaliatory strikes were a "blatant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter," particularly the principle prohibiting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of countries.

Iran stressed the use of all material and spiritual capabilities of the nation to defend its vital security interests, while also being congizant of its responsibilities for regional peace and security.

"As repeatedly emphasized by the competent authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the inherent right of self-defense, as also reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers itself entitled and obliged to defend against acts of external aggression," read the statement.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran was determined to defend itself after Israeli warplanes struck military bases and missile sites in several Iranian provinces, killing two soldiers.

"I think we've shown that our determination to defend ourselves knows no limits," Araghchi said in an interview with the official website of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (AFP)

President Joe Biden on Saturday said it appeared Israel had only struck military targets in its attack on Iran, and that he hoped they were "the end." (Reuters)

Finance leaders from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies urged Israel on Saturday to maintain its correspondent relationships with Palestinian banks and said they were committed to resolving problems blocking a reallocation of taxing rights on large multinational companies.

A statement issued a day after G7 finance ministers and central bank governors met late on Friday also condemned Iran's military attacks on Israel as well as its transfer of advanced weapons to Russia.

The G7 finance leaders said the continuation of Israeli-Palestinian correspondent banking relationships were needed "so that vital financial transactions and critical trade and services continue."

The statement, which echoed warnings from U.S. Treasury officials, also called for the release of withheld clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority in full and the reissuance of permits for Palestinian workers where security allows.

The G7 communique came after separate statements from the group on Friday night that laid out principles for $50 billion in bilateral loans to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian sovereign assets that could be disbursed starting as early as December. (Reuters)

​​Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Saturday of a "dangerous escalation" in the region, saying Washington bears "full responsibility" for the "treacherous" raids on Iran launched by its Israeli ally.

"Hezbollah strongly condemns the treacherous Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and considers it a dangerous escalation at the level of the entire region," Hezbollah said in a statement, adding that the United States "bears full responsibility for the massacres, tragedies and pain" caused by Israel. (AFP)

We are deeply concerned by the evolving escalation in West Asia and its ramifications for peace and stability in the region and beyond. We reiterate our call to all concerned to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. The ongoing hostilities are to nobody’s benefit, even as innocent hostages and civilian populations continue to suffer. Our Missions in the region are in contact with the Indian community, said ministry of external affairs in a statement.

The European Union on Saturday called for all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an "uncontrollable escalation" in the Middle East after Israel carried out deadly air strikes in Iran.

"The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliations risks causing a further expansion of the regional conflict," the 27-nation bloc said in a statement. "While acknowledging Israel's right to self-defence, the EU calls on all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an uncontrollable escalation, which is in no one's interest." (AFP)

Bahrain's foreign ministry on Saturday condemned military action against Iran, urging an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians and reduce regional tensions, after Israel carried out airstrikes on Iranian military targets.

The Israeli army on Saturday said Hezbollah had fired around 80 projectiles targeting the country, just hours after Israel launched air strikes targeting military facilities in Iran.

"As of 15:00 (12:00 GMT), approximately 80 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation have crossed from Lebanon into Israel today," the army said in a statement.

"Israel attacked military targets in Iran in a very precise way. We have neutralized the air defence system of Iran and we have destroyed missile capabilities, missile factories and other air capabilities that the Iranians have. Iran is now completely exposed. We have shown very clearly that there is a price to pay when you attack the state of Israel... Iran knows now very well that if it continues attacking Israel, any target in Iran is reachable," said Reuven Azar, Israel's Ambassador to India on Israel’s strike against military targets in Iran.

Russia warned on Saturday that an "explosive escalation" in hostilities between Iran and Israel risked spiralling out of control, after Israel bombed military targets in the Islamic republic.

Israel warned Tehran would "pay a heavy price" if it responded to the retaliatory strikes, and the United States and Britain both demanded Iran not escalate the conflict further.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said she was concerned about "the ongoing explosive escalation" in the region.

"We urge all parties involved to exercise restraint, stop the violence and prevent events from developing into a catastrophic scenario," she said in a statement.

"It is necessary to stop provoking Iran into retaliatory actions and get out of the spiral of uncontrolled escalation," she added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a summit of the BRICS group of emerging nations this week that tensions between the two regional heavyweights risked leading to a full-scale war in the Middle East.

"The level of confrontation between Israel and Iran has sharply risen. This is all reminiscent of a chain reaction and puts the whole Middle East on the verge of full-scale war," the Russian leader said.

Moscow has close relations with Iran and has expressed concerns about a wider conflict in the region, where it has security and economic interests. (AFP)

A "terrorist attack in a region of southeastern Iran long plagued by unrest killed at least 10 people, local media reported on Saturday.
They were killed during the attack "against police vehicles" in Taftan county, the Mehr and Tasnim news agencies reported, without saying how the attack was carried out. (AFP)