IDF vows to strike heavily across Middle East after Iranian assault

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called Iran's attack on Tuesday an 'outrageous act of aggression' in a post on X/Twitter on Wednesday morning.

I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today following today’s outrageous act of aggression by Iran against Israel. The Minister and I expressed mutual appreciation for the coordinated defense of Israel against nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran and…

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 2, 2024

Some 180 ballistic missiles were launched onto Israel on Tuesday night by Iran, The Jerusalem Post understands, leading to 1,800 rocket sirens sounding across the country. 

In a statement given to Israeli media following the attack, the IDF vowed that it would strike forcefully across the Middle East on Tuesday night.

A Palestinian worker from Gaza was reportedly killed as a result of fragments of rockets that fell in the city of Jericho in the West Bank, according to Israeli media. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration was tracking the reported death of the Palestinian civilian in the West Bank.

Magen David Adom's CEO Eli Bin announced that there was a direct hit to a building in north Tel Aviv on George Wise Street. MDA confirmed that three people had been wounded by falls in Tel Aviv.

A strike also hit a home in Tel Sheva, according to Maariv. Further, a Chabad school in Gedera was hit directly, resulting in a crater and extensive damage to infrastructure, according to Israeli media.

Direct hit to school in Gedera (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

The head of the school, which has 400 students, was quoted as saying, "Just to think that a few hours ago, there were hundreds of students there learning about Rosh Hashanah. A huge miracle happened to us." 
  
Multiple other falls were recorded in Tel Aviv, Dimona, Nabatim, Hora, Hod Hasharon, Beersheba, and Rishon Lezion. Israeli air defenses shot down dozens of missiles that flew over Syria, the Syrian army sources told Reuters. 

Israelis take shelter in Tel Aviv amid the Iranian attack, October 1, 2024 (credit: CHEN SHIMMEL/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Video footage from KAN showed falling fragments of interceptors and missiles in the Dead Sea.

תיעוד: נפילת שברי מיירטים וטילים בים המלח@rubih67
(צילום: יובל אפריאט) pic.twitter.com/ojN9RY8hGA

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 1, 2024

Ben Gurion Airport announced that all landings and takeoffs had been halted, and all trains were stopped. Planes that were in the air for landing made a U-turn.  Airport activities later resumed on Tuesday evening. Jordan and Iraq have also closed their airspace.

Damage was caused to electricity infrastructure in parts of southern Israel following a rocket fall in Beersheba, The Israel Electric Company said Tuesday night.

Residents of the moshav of Bnei Atarot reported a power outage in their area following the rocket blast. A team of technicians arrived at the scene to repair the damages caused by the attack.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he had mobilized 13,000 emergency standby squads, which will be immediately deployed throughout Israel.

Iran: Attack a response to Nasrallah's assassination

Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced that the attack was in response to the assassination of Nasrallah, and if Israel responded, it would experience a decisive blow.  

“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” the official stated.

בור נפער בעקבות נפילת טיל באזור השרון@hadasgrinberg
צילום: נעשה מאמץ גדול לאתר את בעלי הזכויות בצילומים. השימוש נעשה לפי סעיף 27א. אם אתם בעלי הזכויות יש לפנות ל-zcuyot@kan.org.il pic.twitter.com/Obcg8Mn9ZS

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 1, 2024

“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” the US official said.

“A direct military attack from Iran against Israel,” the official stressed, “will carry severe consequences for Iran.”

The IDF spokesman asked residents to remain in the protected area until further notice. 

"The explosions you hear originate from interceptions or falls. The air defense system detects and intercepts threats all the time."

Rocket fall in Tel Sheva (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

Iran last attacked Israel in April, but its missiles were thwarted by the unified actions of five armies: Israel, the US, France, Jordan, and the United Kingdom.

It's presumed that this attack was be larger than the 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones, and dozens of cruise missiles which Iran launched on Israel in April.

Three Israeli officials said beforehand that the attack would involve unmanned drones and missiles fired toward three military air bases and an intelligence headquarters north of Tel Aviv, The New York Times reported. 

The second direct military showdown between Israel and Iran comes as the IDF has, in the last weeks, bombarded Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, significantly weakening the Iranian proxy group. This has included the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Iran had warned of repercussions for those attacks. 

Early Tuesday evening, the IDF Home Front took the nearly unprecedented step of warning the whole Tel Aviv region to head to bomb shelters even before rocket sirens went off.

In light of the Israeli and US confirmations that Iran plans to attack Israel imminently, it appeared that the attack by Tehran had already started.

Shortly after, the IDF said it had shot down a long-range rocket launched by Hezbollah against the Tel Aviv area. However, in light of the severe and imminent concerns about Iran, the IDF said that Tel Aviv residents should stay near their bomb shelters.

Hagari reaffirms IDF's high preparedness

IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari reaffirmed the IDF's high state of preparedness and that it was ready and willing to respond to any and all attacks from Iran.

"Following developments in Iran, we are in [a state of] high preparedness. IDF is prepared and ready both on the offensive and defensive front. There will be consequences if Iran attacks Israel. Our US partners in CENTCOM are ready alongside us. We will know how to handle [any attack].”

The US Embassy has warned its staff and their families to shelter in place before the attack, and  Israel's intelligence headquarters north of Tel Aviv was evacuated in advance.

The US has an aircraft carrier deployed in the region to help keep tensions from escalating as well as to suppress an Iranian response.

Reuters and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

Hamas said on Tuesday it praises Iranian missile strikes avenging deaths of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan. 

In a statement on Telegram, it said, "We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), congratulate the heroic missile launching operation carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, on large areas of our occupied territories, in response to the occupation’s ongoing crimes against the peoples of the region, and in revenge for the blood of our nation’s heroic martyrs; the martyr Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the martyr His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and the martyr Major General Abbas Nilforoushan."

The statement continued: "We affirm that this honorable Iranian response is a strong message to the Zionist enemy and its fascist government, on the path to deterring them and curbing their terrorism, as their crimes, arrogance, and violations of international laws and humanitarian norms have crossed all limits."

Israeli political leaders reacted to what they called a "declaration of war" by Iran on Tuesday night, as the Islamic Republic fired some 180 ballistic missiles into Israel as part of a massive aerial barrage.

National Unity MK Benny Gantz said, "The state of Israel has capabilities that were developed for years to strike Iran, and the government has [our] full backing to act with force and determination."

Democrats chairman Yair Golan said that the missile attack was a "declaration of war" but said that Israel should not be hasty. 

Labor party leader Yair Golan attends a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 22, 2024. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Israel should "ensure that an attack against Iran should be coordinated with the Americans and regional forces in order for the response to be decisive, precise, and effective," Golan said.

IDF identified and shot at a group of suspects observed moving toward Israeli forces operating in central Gaza, the IDF said Tuesday night.

There were no casualties among Israeli forces, and the incident is under control, the IDF said.

US President Joe Biden pledged his support for Israel after American and Israeli forces successfully defended Israel against a massive missile attack from Iran Tuesday night that targeted most of the country.

"At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defense of Israel,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan echoed the same message as he warned Iran “There will be consequences, severe consequences, for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case,”
They spoke after the second direct Iranian attack on Israel, one day before the start of the Jewish New Year. It followed the April attack days before Passover.

Pentagon spokesperson Maj.-Gen. Pat Ryder said this attack was “about twice as large in terms of the number of ballistic missiles that they launched” when compared to April.

US President Joe Biden speaking at the UN, September 24, 2024. (credit: PERRY BINDELGLASS)

Iran warned it would strike Israel again and hit American targets if any reprisal action was taken against it. Armed Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq warned that US bases there could be a target.

Stronger retaliatory attacks

“Should the Zionist regime dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations wrote on X.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the order to launch missiles at Israel was made by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei remains in a secure location, the senior official added.

In an unusual move, Khamenei posted a warning message to Israel in Hebrew on his X account after the attack, stressing that reprisal attacks against it would only grow stronger.

Each one “will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said.

The United States had warned Israel of the incoming attack, which Iran said was in retaliation for the IDF’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah two weeks ago and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran over the summer. Israel is widely believed to have been responsible for Haniyeh’s killing but has not taken credit.

The attack followed Israel’s intense bombardment of military targets in Lebanon belonging to the Iranian proxy group in the last weeks.

On Monday night, its ground troops entered southern Lebanon for the first time since the Second Lebanon War in 2006 in an attempt to push Hezbollah away from its border area.

The US warned Israel on Tuesday that an attack was imminent. US President Joe Biden posted on X that he and Vice President Kamala Harris had “convened our national security team to discuss” the attack and US efforts to defend Israel and American personnel in the region.

Sullivan told reporters that “US naval destroyers joined Israeli air defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down” some 200 “inbound missiles.”

Biden and Harris “monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room,” he said.
“We are still working with the IDF and the authorities in Israel to assess the impact of the attack,” Sullivan said adding that US officials were holding consultations with their Israeli counterparts.

Prior to the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We are in the midst of a campaign against Iran’s axis of evil.

“I said yesterday that these are days of great achievements and great challenges,” Netanyahu explained. “Great achievements because we thwarted Nasrallah and his top command and Hezbollah’s plan to occupy the Galilee.”
The elimination of the threat from Hezbollah is an essential step in returning the over 60,000 residents to their homes on the northern border, he explained.

“We are determined” to do this, Netanyahu stated.

At the same time, he called on Israelis to do two things – to obey Home Front Command directives and, second, “to stand together.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Israel’s Home Front Command deployed its new "Personal Message" missile alert system for the first time under fire Tuesday evening, following an unprecedented missile barrage from Iran. The system, based on Cell Broadcast technology, sends emergency messages directly to mobile phones in targeted areas without requiring users to download an app or register.

Unveiled in August, the system became operational during the massive missile attack from Iran, which saw over 200 missiles launched toward Israel. Tehran issued a stern warning, stating: "If the Zionist regime responds, it will face heavy attacks."

The "Personal Message" system greatly enhances Israel’s emergency readiness by providing precise, real-time alerts. Its independence from cellular networks and GPS means that it can continue to deliver life-saving instructions swiftly during crises, ensuring citizens have the best chance to respond to missile threats effectively.

How it works

The alert system uses Cell Broadcast technology, a long-established method that transmits messages via cellular antennas, similar to how FM radio works. This allows for messages to be broadcast to every mobile device in a defined area—whether it’s an entire city or just a specific neighborhood—without the need for individual phone numbers. The alerts are accompanied by a distinct sound to ensure they stand out from regular notifications.

New emergency alert is received on phones of Israeli residents during the Iran attack (credit: Yinon Ben Shushan)

While "Personal Message" does not replace the Home Front Command app or the country’s air raid sirens, it acts as an additional layer in Israel's broader alert system. The technology is already widely used around the world for weather warnings, natural disasters, and terror threats.

Amid the missile barrage, disruptions also affected Israel’s public transportation and air travel. Ben Gurion Airport remains operational, albeit with some delays due to flight cancellations from European airlines.

Iran’s massive ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1 is part of the Tehran regime’s attempt to make these types of attacks a new normal. They carried out a large attack in April and threatened another attack in August. This has led Israel into crisis each time as people must be prepared to go to shelters, and activities are canceled.

 We have become too used to the idea that hundreds of Iranian missiles can fly through the sky of Israel. Because Israel has air defenses, these kinds of unprecedented attacks, which would usually mark the beginning of a major war, are portrayed as acceptable. Media abroad portrays them as Iran trying to “retaliate” or “even the score” or “deter” Israel. This is a false attempt to downplay the Iranian threat.

Iran has shown in its recent attack that it can launch 180 ballistic missiles. The previous time, in April, it used more drones than missiles. Now, it is relying on the missiles, and it has also shown it can target certain areas of Israel with them. This is a major threat to the region. It cannot go unanswered. What that means is that Iran has for too long assumed a kind of privilege where it expected to be appeased. It expects that there will be no response. Iran’s regime assumes it can send millions of Israelis to shelters and that life in Tehran will continue as normal.

 Iran has been doing this for years. It attacked Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq energy facility in 2019 using drones and cruise missiles. It also carried out ballistic missile attacks on Erbil and other areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq over the last several years. Iran has also launched ballistic missiles at Syria and Pakistan in January. It also attacked US forces at the Asad base in Iraq using ballistic missiles in 2020. Notice the pattern.

A person uses a phone on the ground, on the day Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Ammar Awad TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Why not Iran?

Iran has been doing this more and more, and it always gets away with it. No one launches ballistic missiles at Iran. Iranians don’t have to flee to shelters. Iran’s regime leaders don’t have to go to a bunker. Iran feels complete privilege to do whatever it wants. It has attacked ships in the Persian Gulf; it has encouraged Hamas’ genocidal attack on October 7; it has armed Hezbollah; and it has flooded Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon with arms for proxy militias. The regime is a threat to the region and the world.

Iran’s attack on Israel illustrates its growing threat. This is not an acceptable trend. I saw the attack from my balcony while my family sheltered. I had to rush home when Israel’s Home Front Command said that there was a security threat. The threat caused the whole country to go to shelters.

From my balcony, I could see the ballistic missiles flying over Jerusalem. Many seemed headed to the South. Some were intercepted. Sirens sounded across Jerusalem, those haunting sirens that cause us all anxiety. While it seems the missile threat did not cause much damage and didn’t harm many people, it is still an unacceptable way to live.

The theory that Israel should “take the win” and not respond simply because no one was injured is a false way to examine this threat. It’s like saying that since no one was injured in a mass shooting, that therefore it’s acceptable to have mass shootings. It’s a false perception that simply because a bullet hits a bullet-proof vest that therefore the person who fired the bullet should be released immediately.

We don’t view crimes that way. We don’t argue that if no one was injured, then the crime of shooting at a crowd of people didn’t happen. We don’t “take the win” and shrug our shoulders in those cases. Just because Israel has good defenses and Iran’s missiles failed to reach their targets in most cases, doesn’t mean there is no threat. People had to shelter and sit in fear. Children are traumatized.

It’s obvious that if the situation was reversed, and Israel launched 200 missiles at Iran and millions of Iranians had to seek shelter, that it would not be portrayed as acceptable. Iran is trying to create a new normal of massive ballistic missile attacks on Israel. Iran is testing Israel’s defenses. Iran is also preparing to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran is using its attacks across the region to hone its capabilities. The attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan were not in a vacuum. They were preparations for the attacks on Israel. The fact that Iran was appeased and not stopped earlier has emboldened it.

As I stood on my balcony, the sirens sounding around me, watching the Iranian missiles fly overhead, it was clear the dangerous power Iran has unleashed. Iran is raining missiles on Israel and the region. The whole region is aflame with violence and war because of Iran. Hezbollah is a threat because of Iran. Hamas is a threat because of Iran. The West Bank is boiling over because of Iran. The Houthis are attacking Israel because of Iran. The Iraqi militias are attacking Israel because of Iran. These threats must stop, and this cannot become a new normal

Jordan allowed the US to fly and shoot down Iranian missiles within the country's airspace, a US official and a senior Jordanian official told NBC News.

The Jordanian official clarified that Jordan would do the same for "any other missile flying over our airspace."

Additionally, the Pentagon said that two US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles aimed at Israel.

Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters that no other US military assets were used to shoot down the missiles, which were all fired from inside Iran.

Jordan allowed the US to fly and shoot down Iranian missiles within the country's airspace, a US official and a senior Jordanian official told NBC News.

The Jordanian official clarified that Jordan would do the same for "any other missile flying over our airspace."

Additionally, the Pentagon said that two US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles aimed at Israel.

Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters that no other US military assets were used to shoot down the missiles, which were all fired from inside Iran.