Iran fires 200 missiles at Israel in major attack

This story has been updated to add new information.

WASHINGTON — Iran fired waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday in what it called a revenge attack for Israel's killing of several Hezbollah leaders including its top leader Hassan Nasrallah.

There were no immediate reports of Israeli casualties from the barrage, which targeted Tel Aviv and other central parts of Israel. A man was reported killed in Jericho, in the West Bank. Iran fired about 200 missiles, a Pentagon spokesman said.

“Based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at the White House.

The majority of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, the Pentagon said. Two U.S. Navy destroyers that fired about a dozen interceptors.

Israel and the U.S. promised to respond.

"We will choose when to collect the price, and prove our precise and surprising attack capabilities, in accordance with the guidance of the political leadership," Israeli Major General Herzi Halevi said in a statement.

The attack comes as the Middle East appears to be teetering on the brink of a multi-state war and followed an Israeli ground operation into Lebanon on Tuesday, where Iran-backed Hezbollah is based.

“We have made clear that there will be severe consequences for this attack, and we'll work with Israel to make that the case,” Sullivan said

The missile barrage was the latest escalation in a weeks-long skirmish between Hezbollah and Israel, and comes days before the one-year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel. Hamas is an ally of Hezbollah and is also supported by Iran.

The attack also comes just as the Jewish high holiday Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset on Wednesday.

The assault caused sirens to sound across Israel. Millions entered bomb shelters as Israel's Defense Forces worked to intercept the missiles.

The White House said President Joe Biden had directed the U.S. military to aid Israel in defending against the attacks.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden said after gathering with his national security team earlier in the day to monitor the airstrikes.

Asked abut a U.S. response, Biden told reporters: “That remains to be seen.”

Related: Spy satellites may have detected preparations for Iran's missile attack on Israel

Earlier, a White House official warned Israel that Iran was preparing to launch an "imminent" ballistic missile attack. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said a direct attack on Israel will carry "severe consequences for Iran."

Israel's multi-layered air defenses, along with help from U.S. military system, appear to have intercepted most of the missiles fired by Iran, according to a U.S. official.

Iran claimed, without providing evidence, that the majority of its missiles hit their targets.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would launch more powerful attacks if Israel retaliated.

Iran has been threatening to attack Israel since August, when Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by a bomb hidden in the wall of a government guest house in Tehran.

Israel's killing of Nasrallah, after fatal strikes against several Hezbollah commanders, appeared to add new impetus to that threat.

Ahead of the barrage, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem directed U.S. government employees and their family members to "shelter in place until further notice."

Not long before before the missiles launched, there were multiple casualties in a shooting incident in Tel Aviv that police said appeared to be terror-related. Police said six people were dead, including the two shooters, but the death toll was "dynamic" and could rise.

Several more were injured.

U.S. warnings of an imminent attack followed Israel's aggressive airstrikes and covert attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli troops crossed into Lebanon for the first time since 2006. The Israeli military said it was conducting a "localized and targeted" ground operation on Hezbollah command posts and weapons storage sites.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israelis to follow military directives. Israel's restrictions on large gatherings would be tightened, he said.

Iran fired twice the number of ballistic missiles Tuesday as it launched in April’s attack, said Air Force Major Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman. “Their intent is to cause destruction.”

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Israel hammers Hezbollah, 1,000 dead

Israel killed Hezbollah's longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Sept. 27.

Israel has pummeled Lebanon with airstrikes in the last two weeks, killing more than 1,000 people, according to the country's health ministry. The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, the largest in nearly a year, was triggered by an Israeli operation that exploded thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies across the country.

In April, Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel. With U.S. and western allies, Israel shot down almost all of them.

Supreme Leader Khamenei moved to secure location

Iran's Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei called for five days of mourning on Sept. 28 for his ally Nasrallah and was moved to a secure location, a second U.S. official said.

Tehran has in the past used mourning periods for operational planning, this person said.

Even as Israel, the U.S., and other allies prepared for a ballistic missile strike on Tuesday, an official noted Tehran could take longer to respond ? opting to rebuild Hezbollah’s leadership before striking back.

For almost a year, the Iran-backed militant group has intensified firing of rockets into northern Israel. Tensions on that border have increased since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Israel responded by launching military strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry.

U.S. officials are concerned that a ratcheting up of tensions could lead to a broader regional conflict in the Middle East and have been trying to negotiate a cease-fire. The Pentagon has also been bolstering the U.S. troop presence in the region.

Hezbollah is financially backed by Iran and is part of its "axis of resistance," a network of groups across the region that it funds and provides with weapons, including the Houthis in Yeman and Hamas in Gaza.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran launches major missile attack on Israel