Israeli airstrikes have significantly impacted Iran’s defense systems and missile production capabilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday, while Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicated that Iran is considering its response.
As conflict intensifies in Gaza and Lebanon, a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran poses a risk of escalating into a wider regional war. However, a day after the strikes, there were no immediate signs of further escalation.
Fighting continued in Lebanon between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, with an Israeli airstrike reported to have killed eight people in a residential area of Sidon on Sunday.
Netanyahu emphasized that the air force carried out extensive attacks across Iran, claiming the strikes were “precise and powerful” and achieved their objectives. Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, stated that the strike demonstrated Israel’s resolve against its adversaries and expressed readiness for all potential scenarios.
Iran has not yet indicated its response to the long-anticipated airstrikes, which involved numerous fighter jets targeting areas near Tehran and in the western provinces of Ilam and Khuzestan. The U.N. Security Council is expected to convene on Monday to discuss the situation.
The two nations have been engaged in a cycle of retaliation for months, with these recent strikes following an Iranian missile attack on October 1, much of which Israel claimed to have intercepted.
Khamenei remarked that Israel’s strategic calculations “should be disrupted,” adding that the Iranian response to the attack, which resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and caused damage, should not be underestimated or overstated. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian asserted that Iran is not seeking war but would respond appropriately.
U.S. President Joe Biden has called for de-escalation amid concerns about a potential wider conflict in the Middle East stemming from the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict and Israel’s military actions in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Iran can no longer effectively use its allies, Hamas and Hezbollah, against Israel, claiming that both groups are no longer viable tools for Tehran. He further asserted that Hamas is no longer operating as a military network in Gaza and that Hezbollah’s leadership and most missile capabilities have been diminished.
Despite this, Hamas maintains that it can still operate militarily, and Israel has conducted significant operations in northern Gaza against what it describes as regrouping Hamas militants. Hezbollah, on the other hand, claims its command structure remains intact and it retains substantial missile capabilities.
In Lebanon, the Israeli military urged residents of 14 villages in the south to evacuate north of the Awali River. An Israeli airstrike in Sidon resulted in nine deaths and 25 injuries, according to the local health ministry. Additional strikes in the region also caused casualties, bringing the total to 19 deaths in Lebanon from Israeli attacks on Saturday alone.
Since the exchange of rocket fire began between Israel and Hezbollah, at least 2,672 people have been killed and over 12,468 injured, as reported late on Sunday. Israel reported that four of its soldiers lost their lives in the fighting in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah also claimed to have launched a significant missile barrage at the Zevulon military facility north of Haifa, with rockets reportedly striking a house and vehicles, leading to emergency response efforts. One woman was reported to be seriously injured, according to Israeli ambulance services.
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