Iran has launched its most extensive attack on Israel to date, launching 200 ballistic missiles in an extraordinary assault on Tuesday. The Israeli defenses, with the assistance of the United States and its allies, appear to have successfully neutralized the greater part of the barrage.
Concerns about a wider, all-out conflict between the two regional powers are growing, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare that Iran has made a “big mistake” and will face consequences. Israel has pledged to respond.
The attack resulted in the death of one person, and the full extent of the damage is still uncertain. The Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s headquarters and two air bases were the sites of numerous Iranian missile strikes.
Following the assassinations of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, and Ismail Haniyeh, political leader of Hamas, Iran claimed it launched an attack on Israeli security and military targets. Iran’s military chief has also threatened wider strikes if Israel reacts.
Although this is Iran’s second aerial attack on Israel this year, the barrage on Tuesday was significantly more powerful.
In April, Iran retaliated for what it believed was an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria by launching a massive drone and missile attack on Israel. This was the first direct assault on the country from Iran’s soil.
Israel and Hezbollah have yet to reach an agreement through diplomacy, and the ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Hamas and Israel have been unsuccessful.
