4 killed, 70 injured in Iran's missile attacks on Israel

TEL AVIV: At least four people were killed and more than 70 injured in Iran’s missile attacks on Israel, the newspaper Jerusalem Post confirmed on Saturday.

Iran’s large-scale missile and drone assault came in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on Iran that killed top military leadership.

The dead and injured were transported to hospitals, where medical personnel said several injured remain in critical condition, according to Israeli media reports citing the emergency medical service, Magen David Adom.

Casualties were reported in central Israel, including the capital, Tel Aviv. The attack caused widespread damage to buildings and homes, with some residents reportedly trapped under the rubble.

Photos published by the Times of Israel showed extensive destruction, including collapsed buildings and the wreckage of multiple vehicles scattered among the debris.

Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded on Friday night across Israel following what the country’s military spokesman said was the firing of missiles from Iran.

Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel’s two largest cities, sending residents rushing into shelters as successive waves of Iranian missiles streaked across the skies. The military said its air defence systems were operating.

“In the last hour, dozens of missiles have been launched at the state of Israel from Iran, some of which were intercepted,” the Israeli military said.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said hundreds of ballistic missiles had been launched in retaliation for Israel’s biggest ever attacks on Iran, blasting Iran’s huge underground nuclear site at Natanz and wiping out its top military commanders.

Israel said the strikes were the start of “Operation Rising Lion”. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having started the strikes and initiating a war.