Iran rains missiles into Israel; civilians in bomb shelters, says IDF

Hours after the US warned about an “imminent” ballisticmissile attack by Iran on Israel, a barrage of missiles was fired at Israel from Iranian territory on Tuesday (October 1), the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. According to a BBC report, no "serious injuries" have been reported yet.

In a post on X, IDF said all Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters.

Israel on alert

The attack was confirmed by Israel’s foreign ministry which at 10.08 pm IST said the missiles were launched “a short while ago”.

"A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel. Israelis are instructed to remain alert and precisely follow the Home Front Command's instructions," the Israeli foreign ministry said on X.

"In the last few minutes, the Home Front Command has distributed life-saving instructions in various areas across the country. The IDF is doing and will do everything necessary to protect the civilians of the State of Israel," it said.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirms attack

According to Al Jazeera, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also confirmed the attack, stating that it has fired dozens of missiles at Israel.

Hours before the attack, Tel Aviv Police had also reported about suspected “terror” shooting in the city in which several people are said to have been killed.

The attack follows Israel’s “localised and targeted” ground raids against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in Southern Lebanon and after the militant outfit’s commander Hassan Nasrallah and a top official from IRGC were killed in strikes by Israel in Beirut.

US warning

Earlier in the day, the US had sounded a warning about a possible ballistic missile attack against Israel by Iran.

“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” AFP had quoted a senior White House official as saying.

Stating that the US is assisting Israel in defending itself against the imminent attack, the official had warned that any direct military action from Iran against Israel would have severe repercussions for the former.

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

Israel’s ground raids in Lebanon

Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF had said that it has begun a “limited, localised and targeted” ground raids against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in Lebanon that are closer to the border.

Israel’s operation is believed to be aimed at pushing Hezbollah north in line with the UNSC resolution 1701, which requires that the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers be the only armed force south of the Litani River.