US to bolster Israel’s defence against Iran
US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team.
According to a White House situation room update, President Biden directed the US military to aid Israel’s defence against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel.
On Tuesday, in a major escalation in the raging conflict in West Asia, Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on Tuesday. In a statement the IDF said, all Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as rockets from Iran are fired at Israel.
Hezbollah was upset that the IDF exposed their plans to massacre Israelis, so they decided to target innocent civilians by firing a barrage of rockets, the IDF further said.
As many as 102 missiles have been launched towards Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post. Sirens continue to sound across Israel amid the attack, the Times of Israel reported. According to IDF, around 10 million civilians are the targets of Iranian projectiles. Earlier in the day, IDF began limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
These targets were located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel. The IDF said it was operating according to a methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command which IDF soldiers had trained and prepared for in recent months.
The Israeli Air Force and IDF Artillery were supporting the ground forces with precise strikes on military targets in the area. IDF says, these operations were approved and carried out in accordance with the decision of the political echelon. Operation “Northern Arrows” would continue according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas, the IDF said.
This comes days after Israel launched a decisive blow to Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing its Secretary-General, Hassan NAmritsarallah in airstrike. Earlier in July, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed inside Tehran. Iran had vowed to take revenge on both the occasions.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Iran's attack on Israel appeared to have been defeated, although President Biden’s administration was still monitoring a “fluid” situation. Sullivan said the administration was tracking the reported death of a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank. Meanwhile, media cited Israel’s military as saying on Tuesday that the air force will continue conducting “powerful strikes” tonight throughout West Asia, hours after Iran launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel.
The office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that the UK “completely condemned” Iran’s actions and called for de-escalation across West Asia.
Sky News reported earlier Starmer had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah. Starmer’s office said more calls with European leaders were expected this evening.
6 killed in Tel Aviv shooting attack
- The Israeli police said six people had been killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening
- Police said two suspects opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa neighbourhood in southern Tel Aviv. The two suspects were killed, police said
- The attack came moments before a massive barrage of rockets from Iran towards Israel, sending people towards bomb shelters across the country, including in Tel Aviv
