Iran responds to US strikes with barrage of missiles launched at Israel

Israeli authorities are bracing for an escalation in daily attacks from Iran, with social gatherings and office work ceased immediately.

Rescue personnel evacuate a resident from under a building at an impacted site after a missile attack from Iran on Tel Aviv. Picture: Reuters/Tomer Appelbaum

Israeli authorities are bracing for an escalation in daily attacks from Iran following the US’s entry to the conflict, a decision that resulted in a barrage of missiles launched at the Jewish state and sent millions of people scrambling for shelters.

About 27 missiles landed in waves across central ­Israel early on Sunday, bringing down apartment buildings and injuring 86 people.

The attack came in response to a US military assault targeting ­Iranian enrichment facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan hours earlier.

Israel’s Home Front Command raised the threat level nationwide, ordering that social gatherings and office work cease immediately. The country’s airspace was closed for several hours, with national airline El Al announcing that it had once again cancelled all flights until further notice.

Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, said the US strike, while an important event, was unlikely to draw China and Russia into the conflict. But he cautioned this could change if an attempt was made on the life of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The question is what will happen if the US joins hands with Israel to topple this regime, then China and Russia will have to think what they’re able to do in order to deter that from happening,” he said.

For now, with its estimated stockpile of 1500-1700 ballistic missiles, Iran appeared to be confining its attacks to Israel, rather than aiming its warheads at allied assets. Mr Citrinowicz said the Iranians, while hobbled, appeared to be preparing for a war of attrition using a few dozen missiles per day.

Rescue workers and firefighters survey the site of a direct missile strike in Tel Aviv. Picture: AP Photo/Oded Balilty

“They’re definitely weakened, definitely it will be very hard for them to rebuild their capabilities, but in terms of the missile capabilities they still have resilience – they’ll keep launching against Israel for the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport, a government laboratory and command and control centres during the strike using “long-range liquid and solid fuel missiles” that could bypass “the enemy’s defensive shield”.

Authorities were assessing whether this included missiles that split during their descent to drop smaller munitions in a cluster, causing a greater array of damage using smaller explosions that are harder to intercept.

Israeli authorities confirmed that a similar missile was used in an attack a week ago.

At least 13 people were wounded when a warhead hit an area of Tel Aviv, the rest striking suburbs in the vicinity.

In the northern city of Haifa, where no sirens were sounded, an impact was thought to have been caused by a fallen interceptor, the Israel Defence Forces said.

A plume of smoke is seen over the Israeli city of Haifa following an Iranian strike. Picture: X

Israel authorities have cautioned reporters not to publish the exact location of impact sites.

Since the start of the war, about 850 drones and missiles have been fired at Israel, with 24 people killed, more than 1200 people injured and resulting in more than 8000 people having to be evacuated from their homes.

Anita Fisher, an Australian who was sheltering in a Tel Aviv bunker during the morning salvo, spoke in glowing terms of US President Donald Trump and his decision to assist with Israel’s war on Iran.

“He’s actually gone ahead and done it within the day,” she said.

“He had the leadership to make a difference in our lives, because it had to be done.”

Asked about the Albanese government, Ms Fisher said she was appalled by the visible presence of anti-Semitism in Australia, which she attributed to a failure of leadership.

“I feel as if we’re living in a country that’s so totally anti-Semitic,“ she said.

In the aftermath of the attacks, the Israel Defence Forces issued a statement saying it had launched a fresh round of strikes on western Iran, having earlier struck missile launchers positioned elsewhere in the country and aiming towards Israeli territory.

Iranian authorities also issued a statement on Sunday claiming to have executed a spy for Israeli’s intelligence agencies.

It said they had hanged a man for allegedly providing classified information to Mossad in return for cryptocurrency.