Israel war on Gaza, Lebanon updates: Iran fires missiles at Israel

This live page is now closed.

For more on what we know about Iran’s missile attack against Israel and what comes next, read our explainer, here.

For a look at how Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon have led to a displacement crisis, read our on-the-ground report from the Lebanese capital Beirut, here.

We are going to bring our live coverage to an end soon. Here’s a summary of today’s main events:

• Iran has fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel, saying the attack is in response to the recent killings of Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders.
• Israel has promised to retaliate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning Tehran that it “made a big mistake” and “will pay for it”.
• US President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged unwavering support for Israel while also warning Iran of “serious consequences” for its attack against the top US ally.
• The Israeli military has continued to carry out attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least eight people in a strike in Gaza City.

Just before the Iranian missiles hit Israel, a shooting incident in Jaffa resulted in the killing of at least seven people.

We’re now hearing that Israeli forces stormed Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, and raided homes of the Palestinians they blamed were part of the attack that also injured 15 people.

Israeli forces began searching two houses and interrogated families. They also closed all entrances and exits leading to Hebron and declared it a closed military zone.

Naftali Bennett has said that after the attack by Iran, “Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East”.

“The leadership of Iran, which used to be good at chess, made a terrible mistake this evening. We must act *now* to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime,” the former prime minister said in a social media post.

“There are times when history knocks at our door, and we must open it,” he added.

“This opportunity must not be missed.”

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Iran launched an attack on Israel with about 200 missiles targeting sites across Israel.
• The Israeli military says it intercepted “a large number” of the ballistic missiles launched by Iran, adding that the US also participated in the defence of Israel.
• The general staff of the Iranian army has threatened the US and Israel with direct military action if they launch attacks on Iranian soil.
• The Israeli military has issued new evacuation orders in the southern suburbs of Beirut after its attacks killed 55 people across Lebanon on Tuesday.
• The Wafa news agency reports that Israeli attacks in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp killed three people and wounded eight.

PJ Crowley, a former US assistant secretary of state, says Washington is unlikely to use its leverage over Israel – such as a freeze on weapons transfers to the country – to try to de-escalate regional tensions.

“The American president is not going to do that, and he’s certainly not going to do that weeks from an American election,” Crowley told Al Jazeera.

“The reality is that these are calculations that are going to be made in Jerusalem, in Beirut, in Tehran – not in Washington.”

For months, experts have criticised the Biden administration for failing to rein in the Israeli government as it waged war on the Gaza Strip, warning that the region risked being dragged into a wider conflict.

Abbas Araghchi says Iran’s missile attack was an act of “self-defence” that only targeted military and security sites used for attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

“We did so after exercising tremendous restraint for almost two months, to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza,” the foreign minister said on X, adding that Iran’s action was “concluded” unless Israel “decides to invite further retaliation”.

“In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful,” he warned.

“Israel’s enablers now have a heightened responsibility to rein in the warmongers in Tel Aviv instead of getting involved in their folly,” Araghci said.

Israeli officials have promised to respond to the missile attack, saying Iran will “pay” for it.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna has noted that Biden’s administration has publicly offered unequivocal support to Israel in the aftermath of Iran’s missile attack.

“At this stage though, we do not know what is being said in the communications between US officials and their Israeli officials – whether or not there has been a call for de-escalation,” Hanna reported.

Earlier, Biden told reporters he had yet to speak to Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

“We’ve spoken with all his people and I’ll be talking to him and my message to him will depend on what we finally conclude is needed,” the US president said.

Asked what the consequences for Iran should be, Biden replied: “That remains to be seen.”

As the world’s attention turns to the Iranian missile attack against Israel, the Israeli military has carried on with its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli attack on a family home in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City killed eight people late on Tuesday, the Palestinian Civil Defence said.

While Iran’s missile attack targeted Israeli settlements, which are built on stolen Palestinian land, these settlements are nestled between Palestinian towns and cities.

During the attack, [the] Israelis were getting messages from the government telling them to go to bomb shelters, but we need to remember that Palestinians had nowhere to go. There are no bomb shelters for Palestinians to seek shelter in.

One Palestinian man died of shrapnel wounds from the attack. Originally from Gaza, the man was at a Palestinian Authority training centre in Jericho. Four other Palestinians were wounded north of Jericho. Palestinian Civil Defence crews are also reporting damage across the occupied West Bank, including in the areas of Jenin, Tubas and Bethlehem.

While all of this is going on, some Palestinians are celebrating the attack. They say these celebrations are a natural reaction to Israel’s yearlong war on Gaza, in which Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people.

It’s kind of a mix of feelings watching the destruction happening so close to home while they’re also in the line of fire.

Vice President Harris, who is the Democratic presidential candidate, said she supports President Biden’s decision to use US military assets to help shoot down Iranian missiles.

“I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself against Iran,” she said, calling Iran a “destabilising force in the Middle East”.

Meanwhile, Trump, the Republican former president, has repeatedly sought to frame Democrats as stoking escalation in the Middle East by emboldening response.

His campaign said in a statement that the Biden administration has been “empowering the Iranian terrorist regime ever since they took office”.

Iran’s armed forces have again warned against any retaliatory attacks by Israel or its allies.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, Iran’s army threatened to cause “vast destruction” to Israel’s infrastructure in the event of a response.

As for Israel’s allies, Tehran said it would wage a “strong attack” against their regional bases and interests if they directly intervene.

In a statement on Telegram, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Biden administration had revealed its “complete helplessness in resolving crises”.

“Complete failure of the Biden administration in the Middle East” where a “bloody drama … is only gaining momentum”, said Zakharova.

Russia, which has good relations with Israel and Palestine, has tried to position itself as an alternative mediator amid the Gaza war. Earlier this year, it hosted a conference with representatives from Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad, aimed at bridging the sometimes bitter divides between the Palestinian groups.

The Israeli military has issued new evacuation orders in the southern suburbs of Beirut, warning in a statement that it will hit Hezbollah targets in buildings there.

As we reported earlier, Israeli attacks on Lebanon killed 55 people on Tuesday.

Two people were injured by shrapnel falling in several provinces of Jordan following an Iranian missile attack on Israel, the country’s interior ministry has said.

The ministry said shrapnel was reported by citizens in various provinces, including the capital Amman, Balqa, Zarqa, Madaba and Karak.

Lebanon’s military has been largely absent from the fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

But as Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr explains, Lebanon’s government is having to deal with the fallout.