At least four people were killed and over 90 were injured after missiles fired by Iran struck buildings in Bat Yam and other regions of Israel in the early hours of Sunday, June 15. According to the Times of Israel, the locals who were killed in the Tehran attack were identified as a 60-year-old woman, a 70-year-old woman and a 13-year-old child.
Also Read | Iran launches new wave of attacks on Israel in response to Israeli airstrikes.
More than 100 people were injured at both sites in Bat Yam and Rehovot after the attack, as Israel's Iron Dome air defence system was reported to have failed. The building in Bat Yam collapsed after the missile attack. Sirens were also sounded in Ezuz, Eilat, and Jordan Valley small towns in the south near the border with Egypt, warning of a possible drone infiltration.
Visuals shared on the social media platform X shows a missile strike can be seen hitting a part of Tel Aviv, where a fire ball occurred.
The Israeli operation in Iran is expected to take "weeks and not days," according to White House and Israeli officials. It is informed that the operation is moving on the approval of the US. An Israeli official told CNN that the Trump administration has not critiqued the weeks-long timeframe in private discussions.
A White House official told CNN that the US administration was aware and implicitly supportive of Israel’s plans, and the operation depended on Iran's response. “The Trump administration firmly believes this can be solved by continuing negotiations with the US,” the official said, adding that the US was not going to direct Israel to do anything but defend itself.
Israel on Friday, June 13, carried out airstrikes on Tehran, targeting its nuclear facilities and military sites under 'Mission Lion'. Later, Iran struck with a barrage of missiles, which forced Israel to declare a state of emergency, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying that retaliatory action from Tehran was possible following the operation.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in its latest post on X said, "Iran made its intentions clear; we had no choice but to act. As Iran moves toward nuclear weapons and targeting innocent civilians, the IDF is taking action to protect Israel and to stop a threat the world can’t afford to ignore."