Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfarkila near the border with Israel on October 2, 2024. (Photo by AFP) Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images
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What We Know About Iran’s Missile Attack on Israel
A man and a dog check the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack, in Hod HaSharon, Israel on Oct. 2, 2024. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday night, Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel, with at least some hitting the Jewish state’s territory, in the second such attack by the Islamic Republic this year.
Israel’s military has said that the attacks now appeared to have abated and there was no further threat from Iran for now. The full extent of the damage caused by the overnight barrage is still not known. The Israeli military has said it is not aware of any deaths due to the attacks.
Here is what is known so far.
Why Was The Attack Launched?
Recent days have seen Israel launch a wave of airstrikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and what it described as limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
A man and a dog check the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack, in Hod HaSharon, Israel on Oct. 2, 2024. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday night, Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel, with at least some hitting the Jewish state’s territory, in the second such attack by the Islamic Republic this year.
Israel’s military has said that the attacks now appeared to have abated and there was no further threat from Iran for now. The full extent of the damage caused by the overnight barrage is still not known. The Israeli military has said it is not aware of any deaths due to the attacks.
Here is what is known so far.
Why Was The Attack Launched?
Recent days have seen Israel launch a wave of airstrikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and what it described as limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
How Israel Defended Itself Against Iran’s Missile Attacks
Israeli military forces fire rockets from the Iron Dome defense system to intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, near Sderot, on May 13, 2023. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Iran fired 181 long-range ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, with each missile capable of killing dozens in a single strike. But, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, after the millions of Israelis emerged from the air raid shelters where they had hunkered down, he was not aware of a single reported casualty.
How? The answer lies in Israel’s multi-layered missile defense system, built with the assistance of the United States.
Tim Ripley, a military analyst and editor of the Defence Eye website, said Israel’s different missile defense systems come under the umbrella of a single structure.
Israel Bars UN Secretary-General From Entering Country
Iran Launches Missiles at Israel, Israeli Military Says
Israeli civilians entered bomb shelters on Oct. 1 as the Israeli military reported incoming missile fire from Iran.
“A short time ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a Tuesday statement. “You are asked to remain vigilant and follow the Home Front Command’s instructions precisely.”
Hagari said Israeli air defense capabilities were actively engaging the incoming Iranian munitions, but warned the defense network is not airtight and urged civilians to follow safety advisories from the Israeli military’s Home Front Command.
“You may hear explosions, which could be the result of interceptions or impacts,” he said. “Due to the variety of threats, alarms may be triggered in widespread areas.”
The Israeli military issued the alert just hours after a senior White House official warned Iran was preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” the official said in an email to The Epoch Times.
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
Israeli forces had reported launching cross-border ground raids into Lebanon in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the Biden administration is watching the situation between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon “very closely.”
Blinken did not directly address the reported Iranian missile threat during the brief remarks ahead of talks with the visiting foreign minister of Morocco.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s defense,” he said. “We’re watching developments, as I said, very carefully at this moment.”
The Israeli military’s Home Front Command issued new safety advisories on Tuesday, ordering schools near the northern border to remain closed and telling residents to limit their public gatherings. The command said northern Israeli residents could go to their places of work so long as they could quickly reach a bomb shelter.
Israel’s Home Front Command said residents in and around Haifa, and further south into central Israel, could hold slightly larger public gatherings. Educational activities could also proceed in areas close to bomb shelters.
Addressing Israeli citizens on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the intensified military actions around the Israel–Lebanon border as a moment of “great achievements and great challenges.”
Netanyahu urged Israelis to closely follow the Home Front Command’s instructions.
“Together we will stand steadfast in the trying days ahead of us,” he said. “Together we will stand. Together we will fight and together we will win.”
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfarkila near the border with Israel on October 2, 2024. (Photo by AFP) Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images
US National Security Council Says 'Limited Operations' Within Israel's Right to Self-Defense
IDF Says Troops Crossed into Lebanon
Israeli ground forces crossed into southern Lebanon on Sept. 30, in what may be the opening phases of an Israeli invasion of the country.
“In accordance with the decision of the political echelon, a few hours ago, the IDF began limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a press statement early on Oct. 1.
The IDF said planning and training for the “methodical operation” has been ongoing for months.
Dubbed Operation “Northern Arrows,” the IDF said it’s targeting Hezbollah targets close to Israel’s northern border that “pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”
“The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes.”
The reported operations come as Israel has been signaling an escalating fight with Hezbollah; a Shia Muslim political and paramilitary faction within Lebanon designated as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel.
Lebanon’s state-backed National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli artillery strikes in Marjeyoun, southern Lebanon, and further Israeli airstrikes on the southern Wazzani and Khiyam communities. NNA said a Lebanese army soldier was killed in the Wazzani strikes.
The Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation advisories for civilians in several areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut earlier on Sept. 30, warning that the IDF would soon target those areas.
The United States confirmed it was aware of limited Israeli military ground operations inside Lebanon’s border earlier on Sept. 30.
Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, amid ongoing hostilities between the Hezbollah terrorist group and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, on Oct. 1, 2024. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sept. 30, based on anonymous sources, that Israeli special operations forces launched a limited operation inside a tunnel system on the Lebanese side of the border.
“I’ve seen reports about ground operations,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Sept. 30. “We’ve had some conversations with [Israeli officials] about that. They have, at this time, told us that those are limited operations.”
Miller provided few additional details about the Israeli operations, stating the “limited operations” have focused on “Hezbollahinfrastructureneartheborder.”
Israeli forces have been fighting with Hezbollah in a cross-border skirmish for nearly a year.
Last week, IDF chief of staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi advised IDF ground forces to prepare for the possibility of a ground operation against Hezbollah.
On Sept. 25, the Biden administration joined with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Qatar, and the European Union in a joint statement urging a cease-fire in accordance with existing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which outlines a demilitarized zone along the Israel–Lebanon border. The parties to the joint statement urged an immediate 21-day cooling-off period in the growing cross-border conflict to allow time for a diplomatic solution to emerge.
Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated the cease-fire push in a separate bilateral joint statement on Sept. 25.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed the cease-fire calls, saying he hadn’t responded to the joint U.S.–French message and calling for the IDF to “continue fighting with full force” because Hezbollah had been in violation but with no consequence since Oct. 8, 2023, and that Israel has no option but to defend its residents from its attacks.
Israeli aircraft continued to fly sorties over the weekend, targeting several Hezbollah leaders, including the Lebanese faction’s political leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah was killed in a Sept. 27 airstrike.
“Israel may be now launching a limited operation into Lebanon, are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plans?” a reporter asked President Joe Biden at a White House press event on Sept. 30.
“I’m more aware than you might know,” Biden replied, “and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now.”
On Sept. 30, the Israeli military announced a closed military zone around the Israeli border communities of Metula, Misgav Am, and Kfar Giladi, and barred civilian entry in those areas. The IDF said this area would remain closed until at least Oct. 6.
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