Iran, Israel trade missiles as US bombing of nuclear sites escalates crisis

Air raid sirens heard crossed Israel aft Iran launches 2 volleys of missiles successful accelerated succession, targeting cardinal sites.

Iran and Israel person exchanged a barrage of missiles aft the United States bombed cardinal Iranian atomic sites, dramatically escalating tensions successful the Middle East.

Iran connected Sunday launched 2 volleys of 27 missiles, targeting Israel’s main Ben Gurion airdrome adjacent Tel Aviv, probe facilities, and bid centres, an Iranian authorities quality bureau reported.

Air raid sirens were sounded crossed astir of Israel, sending millions of radical to harmless rooms and weaponry shelters arsenic explosions and rocket interceptions were seen supra the commercialized hub of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the larboard metropolis of Haifa, and different parts of the country.

At slightest 20 radical were wounded, according to Israeli exigency workers.

“This is surely the archetypal clip that we person seen 2 volleys coming successful specified adjacent succession. Usually, determination are hours betwixt each volley of missiles. This time, it was little than fractional an hour,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan.

The targeted areas spanned the occupied Golan Heights successful Syria to the Upper Galilee to bluish and cardinal Israel, affecting 10 abstracted sites either straight by missiles oregon by ample shrapnel, Odeh said.

“There is extended harm successful those sites, particularly successful the Tel Aviv country and Haifa,” Odeh said.

Videos from Tel Aviv and Haifa towards the northbound showed rescue teams combing done debris, apartments reduced to rubble, mangled cars on a thoroughfare filled with debris, and medics evacuating injured radical from a enactment of blown-out houses.

In a statement, the Israeli service said it was investigating wherefore nary aerial raid warnings were sounded successful Haifa.

Israel besides carried retired different question of bombings connected “military targets” successful occidental Iran. The Israeli subject earlier said its strikes destroyed Iranian rocket launchers and targeted soldiers.

The latest speech of missiles betwixt the Middle Eastern enemies followed the US bombing of Iran’s atomic sites astatine Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, with President Donald Trump saying the attacks had “obliterated” the 3 facilities.

Trump said Iran’s aboriginal held “either bid oregon tragedy” and that determination were galore different Iranian targets that could beryllium hit. “If bid does not travel quickly, we volition spell aft those different targets with precision, velocity and skill,” helium said.

Iran responded by saying it “reserved each options” to support itself and warned of “everlasting consequences” if the US joined the war.

In a statement, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the US attacks connected its atomic facilities arsenic a “gross and unprecedented violation” of planetary law.

“The satellite indispensable not hide that it was the United States that, successful the midst of a diplomatic process, betrayed diplomacy” by supporting Israel’s “aggressive action”, and is present waging “a unsafe warfare against Iran,” the ministry said.

It has go wide that the US “adheres to nary rules oregon ethics, and successful bid to beforehand the aims of a genocidal and occupying regime, spares nary lawlessness oregon crime”, it added.

Meanwhile, Israel said it volition temporarily reopen its airspace for flights from 11:00 GMT connected Sunday arsenic it repatriates thousands of citizens near stranded overseas by its warfare with Iran, the country’s airdrome authorization said.

Ben Gurion Airport “will unfastened for landings from 02:00pm-8:00pm arsenic portion of Operation Safe Return”, the authorization said successful a statement, referring to the government’s efforts to bring location citizens.

Most airlines continue to avoid ample parts of the Middle East aft the US attacks connected Iranian atomic sites, according to the formation tracking website, FlightRadar24.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies