Here are the latest developments.
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.
The attack from Iran was the culmination of a dizzying sequence of events over less than 24 hours that began with Israel launching a ground invasion into Lebanon to pursue Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militia. Israel pounded Lebanon from the air throughout Tuesday as its troops advanced on the ground and Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.
The Israeli military has once again issued evacuation warnings for two building complexes in Dahiya, the densely populated area south of Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway. The military is urging Lebanese in and around the area to leave immediately, saying they are in the area of Hezbollah targets.
Many of the missiles were intercepted with the help of the United States, but some fell in central and southern Israel, the Israeli military said. Israel vowed to retaliate.
Millions of people rushed to shelters before explosions lit up the night skies above Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Paramedics said two were lightly injured by shrapnel.
The Israeli military said most of the missiles were intercepted with US help, but that there were a “small number of hits”. It accused Iran of a “dangerous escalation” and warned of “consequences”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the missiles hit their targets and that it had retaliated for the killings of the leaders of its allies Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as a top Iranian general.
The US said the missile attack appeared to have been “defeated and ineffective”, and that it was consulting with Israel on a response.
The UN’s secretary general condemned what he called the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”, adding: “This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
The missile attack came hours after Israeli troops began an invasion of southern Lebanon to remove what the military said were “Hezbollah terror targets” in border villages that posed a threat to residents of northern Israel.
Israel has gone on the offensive against the Iran-backed Shia Islamist political and military organisation after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war with Hamas in Gaza, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, drone and missile attacks.
