Middle East crisis deepens: Israel promises retaliation after Iran fires missiles

Israel has promised to retaliate after Iran fired hundreds of missiles in the direction of Tel Aviv on Tuesday as regional tensions deepened a day after Israel said it started a ground invasion in southern Lebanon to counter the threat from Hezbollah, as per media reports.

Iran said they had fired 200 missiles and that the majority of them hit their target. Explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and Israelis piled into bomb shelters as sirens rang out across the country. The Revolutionary Guard promised a stronger response if Israel retaliated.

“The US is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel”

Iran said it targeted military bases in Israel. The country used hypersonic Fattah missiles for the first time. These entities can apparently travel at least five times faster than the speed of sound. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tehran had made “a big mistake”.

US President Joe Biden, a staunch ally of Israel, said the Iranian attack had been “defeated and ineffective”, adding: “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” according to media reports.

The US has also promised “severe consequences” for the Iranian attack. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had used its “legitimate rights”. He recently rebuked Israel for its actions in Gaza and Lebanon at the UN general assembly.

UNSC to hold emergency meeting on Middle East crisis

Israel continued its military operations in Lebanon throughout Tuesday and issued a fresh call to residents in the Lebanese capital of Beirut to evacuate. “You are located near dangerous Hezbollah facilities. Shortly after the message, Israel started striking Beirut.

The UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting today as the Middle East crisis deepens. Old tensions in the region exploded in October 2023 as Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Peace negotiations have not been fruitful.