Iran fired several waves of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening in a sudden assault that raised the likelihood of a direct all-out war between two of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East.
Iran said the attack was in response to the Israeli killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Hezbollah, an Iran ally, is facing an ongoing war with Israel which has killed dozens of Hezbollah leaders in the past week.
Israel has also announced a ground invasion of Lebanon to battle Hezbollah.
Israel pounded Lebanon from the air throughout Tuesday and continued the attacks even after the Iranian missile attacks.
The Israeli military said Iran fired about 180 missiles during its assault, a significant barrage that forced Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters for more than an hour.
The Israeli military has vowed that there ‘will be repercussions for this attack’, with the ambulance service reporting no injuries from the onslaught.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in next month’s US presidential election, are both monitoring Iran’s attack on Israel from the White House situation room.
The devastating attack on Israel comes just hours after the IDF launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon to carry out raids against Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets.
