Iran hits Tel Aviv after overnight Israeli strikes on Tehran

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early Monday, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation.

AFP images showed gutted residential buildings in Tel Aviv and fires smouldering outside the coastal city of Haifa, after Israel's army warned people to take cover from incoming Iranian missiles.

In Jerusalem, an AFP journalist heard loud explosions, while footage showed Israeli air defences lighting up the night sky.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, Israel's surprise assault on Iran last week has touched off the most intense fighting yet and triggered fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the Middle East.

Israel says its attacks have hit military and nuclear facilities, and killed many top commanders and atomic scientists -- but a senior US official said Sunday that US President Donald Trump told Israel to back down from a plan to kill supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump has urged the foes to "make a deal", but told reporters Sunday that "sometimes they have to fight it out" first.

Monday's Iranian missile attack followed Israeli strikes in central Iran, which Israel's army said targeted surface-to-surface missile sites.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Monday they had "successfully" struck Israel and vowed "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said five people had been killed and 92 wounded following the latest Iranian attack.