Israel/ Hezbollah War: Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel

Iran has launched a missile attack on Israel , the Israeli military says around 180 missiles were fired, most of which were intercepted

No injuries have been reported so far and Israeli authorities say civilians can leave bomb shelters. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says “this attack will have consequences”

Israeli troops have invaded Lebanon, in what the Israeli military calls a “limited, localised and targeted”  ground operation against Hezbollah

On Tuesday morning, an Israeli security official said there had been “no clashes” yet  but a military spokesman later told people in around 25 Lebanese villages to evacuate

The Lebanese Prrime Minister says his country is facing “one of its most dangerous phases”, and that one million people are displaced
Meanwhile, the White House says it’s not aware of any deaths in Israel following strikes by Iran, but adds that this is a fluid situation so numbers and details could change.

During a press briefing, National Security spokesperson Jake Sullivan describes the strikes by Iran as a “significant escalation” and says it appears to have been “defeated and ineffective” without any known damage to Israeli aircraft and strategic military assets.

He says Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel and US Naval destroyers helped Israel shoot them down.

The IDF earlier said 180 missiles had been launched from Iran towards Israel.

President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored events from the Situation Room and they are following developments in the Middle East “minute by minute”, Sullivan continues.

Sullivan says the United States will consult with Israel on next steps and is particularly focused on protecting service members in the region. He also mentions that the United States has not triggered emergency evacuations for its citizens there.

Sullivan refuses to comment on questions about any retaliation from Israel or the United States.