Amid fears of an escalation of conflict in the Middle East, Iran launched at least 180 missiles at Israel on October 1 in response to the country’s aggression in Lebanon and Gaza. Sirens sounded across Israel and explosions rattled Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley. No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in the occupied West Bank.
Iran’s state news agency said three Israeli military bases had been targeted. Tehran said that its missile attack on Israel was finished but Israel and the U.S. vowed to retaliate. Iran promised to counter any response from the Israeli side. Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces also vowed to target the regional assets of any Israeli ally that got involved.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed full U.S. support for Israel. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr. Biden said, “At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defence of Israel. We are still assessing the impact but, based on what we know, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective and this is a testament to Israeli military capability.” “Make no mistake, the United States is fully supportive of Israel,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, with at least three strikes against what it said were targets belonging the group.
The UNSC will meet on October 2 to discuss the situation in the Middle East. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called for an immediate regional ceasefire.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called “escalation after escalation”, saying: “This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
Nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, most in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics on Tuesday.
Published - October 02, 2024 12:00 pm IST
