As of: October 1st, 2024 10:52 p.m
After firing 180 rockets from Iran, the Israeli army has given the all-clear for the time being. One person was killed in the attack and several were injured. Israel and Iran again made mutual threats.
After the Iranian missile attacks on Israel, the Israeli army has given the all-clear for the time being. “At the moment” there is no longer any danger from Iran, the army said. People could leave the shelters again.
Some bullets hit the center and other places in Israel. At least one person was killed and two others were slightly injured. In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian was killed in Jericho by falling rocket parts, the local governor said. The Israeli army said a total of around 180 rockets were fired from Iran toward Israel. Most of them were intercepted.
The Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom reported two slightly injured people in the Tel Aviv area. In addition, some people across the country were very slightly injured while going to shelters, it said. Israel’s army spokesman Daniel Hagari had previously spoken of very few injuries.
Netanyahu: Iran will pay for missile attack
In addition to Hagari, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced consequences for Iran. He described the missile attack on his country as a big mistake. Iran will pay for this, he said as he summoned his security cabinet to a meeting.
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon also threatened Iran with a counterattack. “As we have previously made clear to the international community, any enemy who attacks Israel must expect a harsh response,” he said on the X platform.
Iran threatens a “devastating response” to Israeli retaliation
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said after the rocket attack that it was in retaliation for the killing of Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general.
The Iranian mission to the UN in New York said: “Iran’s legal, rational and legitimate response to the terrorist attacks of the ‘Zionist regime’ – the attacks on Iranian citizens and interests and the violation of the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran – was carried out properly “. If Israel now dares to respond, “a devastating response will follow.”
Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian defended the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should know that Iran is not a belligerent country, “but will resolutely counter any threat,” Peseschkian wrote on
State radio reported that hypersonic missiles were used for the first time in the attack. With the “Fatah-1” rocket, the Revolutionary Guard Air Force managed to overcome Israeli anti-aircraft defenses. The information cannot be independently verified. The “Fatah-1” was only introduced 15 months ago.
After the missile attack, Iran closed its airspace. All flights were canceled until 10 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday, the state agency Irna reported, citing a spokesman for the aviation authority.
USA: Iran’s attack “thwarted and ineffective”
The US government described the Iranian attack as “thwarted and ineffective” and also threatened consequences. “We are not aware of any damage to aircraft or strategic military facilities in Israel,” said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington. It has already been made clear that this attack will have consequences and we are now working on this with Israel.
It is a “significant escalation”. US military warships helped repel the missile attack. Initial discussions have been held with the Israelis, both at the military level and between the White House and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, explained Sullivan. These discussions would continue in the coming hours.
According to the White House National Security Council, US President Joe Biden had ordered the US military to support Israel in repelling Iranian attacks and to shoot down missiles aimed at Israel. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the situation in the Middle East from the White House situation room.
According to the Reuters news agency, Iran informed Russia before the attack. The USA had also been warned shortly beforehand via diplomatic channels, it said, citing a high-ranking Iranian representative.
AND-Secretary General Guterres: “This has to stop”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to the parties to the conflict in the Middle East after the Iranian rocket attack on Israel. “I condemn the expansion of the Middle East conflict, which continues to escalate. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” said Guterres on the X platform.
Federal Government condemns Iranian attacks
The German government condemned the Iranian missile attacks “in the strongest possible terms.” Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) told X: “Iran must stop the attack immediately.” He is leading the region “further to the abyss”. Baerbock emphasized that Iran had been “strongly warned about this dangerous escalation.”
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier also warned of further escalation in the Middle East. He called the situation “extremely serious” in front of MPs in Paris. The National Security and Defense Council was due to meet in the French capital under the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron.
Most recently, attacks on Iran’s allies
Israel’s military and secret services had recently significantly weakened Iran’s allies in the region. At the end of July, the foreign chief of the Islamist Hamas was killed in Tehran. Iran’s leadership then vowed revenge.
Last Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, another key ally of Tehran, was killed. Previously, exploding radio receivers, so-called pagers, injured hundreds of Hezbollah officials and killed several. Since then, it has been unclear whether and how Iran’s military leadership will respond.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military took another step: Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon again for the first time in almost two decades. Around a year after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, the focus of the fighting shifted towards the neighboring country to the north. The army spoke of “limited” attacks near the border on targets of the Shiite Hezbollah, which is closely allied with Iran.
