Middle East: Iran launches missiles at Israel

Steffen Seibert, the German ambassador to Israel, who was in Tel Aviv when the Iranian missiles were launched, said it had been a "tough evening" in a post on social media.

"A horrible terror attack in [Tel Aviv/Jaffa] with several people murdered — and Israel under waves of attack by 100s of Iranian missiles. We can hear louder booms than ever before from within our shelters," he said.

He also shared a map of the locations across Israel where warning sirens went off amid the attack.

US President Joe Biden ordered the US military to support Israel's defense against the wave of Iranian missiles on Tuesday.

National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said on X that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were "monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team."

Biden "directed the US military to aid Israel's defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles targeting Israel," he said.

The US, Israel's most important backer, also helped shoot down Iranian missiles during the last Iranian attack in April.

DW spoke to Middle East Security expert Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, who said Iran had been under "mounting, even crippling, pressure to respond to the killing of [Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh and more recently [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah."

"Doing nothing would have weakened Tehran," Ozcelik said, "perhaps irreparably in the eyes of hardliners in Iran and the axis of resistance in the region." 

As for Tuesday's barrage, the Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London, said that "for now, this appears to be a limited salvo of missiles aiming to reestablish some deterrence."

But, she noted, with preliminary information on the damage done still scarce: "if there are Israeli civilian casualties inside Israel as a result, there will be a grave risk of escalation."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has condemned the waves of missiles fired by Iran toward Israel.

"Israel is currently being attacked by Iran with missiles. I condemn the current attack in the strongest possible terms," she said online.

"We have urgently warned Iran against this dangerous escalation. Iran must stop the attack immediately," she said. "It is leading the region further towards the precipice."

The Israeli military said that the Iranian attack was over, around an hour after it was first reported that missiles had been launched.

"Following the situational assessment, it was decided that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country," it said in a statement.

Israeli airspace was also reopened with landings and take-offs once again allowed, the airport authority said.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the Iranian strikes had resulted in "several hits" in central Israel.

The Magen David Adom emergency services said that two people had been "lightly" injured amid the attack.

But Hagari also indicated the launches appeared to be over. "At this point we don’t know of any further threats," he said.

He said that Israel would respond to the Iranian missiles.

"We have the ability [to react], we are at top readiness, we'll react when and where we choose to," he said.

A number of people were shot in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in what police called a suspected "terror" incident.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that a man opened fire at people waiting at a rail station. The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said there were shootings in two locations.

Israeli police said four people were killed and another seven were injured.

"Paramedics are providing medical treatment to a number of casualties in varying conditions including unconscious casualties," the emergency service said in a separate statement.

The attack took place shortly before Iran launched its missiles against Israel and there was no obvious link between the two incidents.

The Israeli military said that the country's airspace has been shut down following the waves of Iranian attacks.

A spokesman for Israel's main international airport in Tel Aviv, the Ben Gurion Airport, said that there were "currently no take-offs and landings."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the waves of missiles launched against Israel were retaliation for Israel's killing of IRGC, Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilfourashan in a strike in Beirut last week.

Israel is also believed to have been behind the killing of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. Although it never claimed responsibility for that attack, Iran made clear it considered Israel responsible.

The IRGC also said that any Israeli response to Tuesday's missiles would be met with further "more crushing and ruinous" strikes.

Iran also launched a wave of missiles and drones back in April. That attack was widely seen as symbolic with almost all the slow-moving projectiles being shot down.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Iran would be "sorry" after it launched several waves of missile strikes against Israel.

"Like Gaza, Hezbollah and the State of Lebanon, Iran will be sorry for the moment [it attacked Israel]," the nationalist politician wrote on social media platform X.

Following a first wave of missiles fired by Iran toward Israel, many of which appeared to have been shot down, more missiles were seen over the skies of Israel. An IDF spokesman told residents the attack was not done yet and said more than 200 projectiles had been identified so far.

Iran also announced that it had launched attacks against Israel.

Explosions were heard and seen over the skies of Israel after the Israeli military said that Iran had launched missiles toward Israel.

It was not clear whether the explosions came from strikes or Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Reuters cited Israeli media as saying that Iran had fired more than 100 missiles in total. 

The Israeli military said on Tuesday night that Iran had launched missiles toward Israel.

It was not immediately clear how many or what type of missiles they were, but Israel had already said it was prepared for such an attack. 

Air raid sirens also went off in parts of the country. 

The US and Israeli defense ministers spoke on Tuesday after the US said they suspected that Iran was preparing an attack against Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin "discussed the imminent threat of an Iranian missile attack against Israel," Israel's Defense Ministry said.

"The minister and secretary discussed Israel's operational readiness to defend its citizens and military assets, as well as US force posture in the region."

The Israeli military earlier said it had not detected any "aerial threat" from Iran, but said it was ready to defend itself.

Several international airlines have continued to avoid flying over areas in the Middle East affected by the conflict, with many extending their suspension of flights, particularly to Beirut, Tel Aviv and Tehran. 

German airline group Lufthansa, which includes Swiss Air, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, said its flights to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended through October 31. Trips to and from Beirut won't take off until November 30 and October 14, respectively. 

Swiss Air said the suspensions were "intended to provide more predictability for both our passengers and our crews."

Dutch airline KLM also announced Friday that its one daily flight to Tel Aviv will be suspended until the end of the year. 

Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline, has canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv until October 26, citing "operational restrictions."

US airlines Delta and United have also suspended flights to Israel. Qatar Airways canceled flights to and from Beirut until further notice.