The IDF has claimed that it has destroyed a third of Iran’s missile launchers after strikes hit civilian areas in Israel, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Bnei Barak.
A total of 22 people are believed to have been killed by Iranian munitions after the Islamic Republic launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and waves of drones.
Most of the projectiles were intercepted by Israeli air defences, including the much vaunted Iron Dome system, but some still made it through and hit population centers.
IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin confirmed that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) had conducted a number of bombing raids targeting missile infrastructure last night.
He said: “The IDF has destroyed one-third of the Iranian regime’s missile launchers.
“The Israeli Air Force completed several waves of strikes overnight, targeting approximately 100 military targets in Isfahan, central Iran.
"As part of the strikes, approximately 50 fighter jets and aircraft identified and struck missile storage sites, surface-to-surface missile launchers that were ready for launch toward the State of Israel, and command centers where launch squads were preparing to carry out launches toward the territory of the State of Israel.
"Since the beginning of the operation, more than 120 missile launchers—constituting one-third of the Iranian regime’s total launchers—have been destroyed.”
The military has also released footage of strikes conducted against launchers, as well as on truck convoys that it said were smuggling missiles to the sites.
As part of the announcement, the air force confirmed that it had established “full operational freedom” in Iranian air space, allowing it to conduct these operations.
In a separate statement, the IDF confirmed that it had eliminated four senior Iranian officials in a strike on a meeting of the regime’s intelligence leadership.
Mohammad Kazemi, the head of the IRGC, his deputy Mohammad Mohaaqiq, as well as Quds Force director Mohsen Bakri and his right hand man Abu al-Fadl Nikouei were all killed.
This followed the deaths of Mohammed Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, and former IRGC chief Hossein Salami in an airstrike over the weekend.
Elsewhere, the US embassy branch in Tel Aviv was damaged by the impact of an Iranian missile nearby, according to Washington’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.
Meanwhile, the IDF has stepped up security in the West Bank amid the growing regional tensions caused by the war with Iran, while military operations in Gaza continue.
It comes after the IDF and Mossad destroyed a number of Iranian nuclear sites as part of Operation Rising Lion, which saw commands units disable the Islamic Republic’s air defences before unleashing drone strikes from within the country.
The operation was reportedly planned for more than a year but was given the green light after talks over a nuclear deal between Washington and Tehran stalled.
Israel has long expressed concern that Iran’s uranium enrichment programme is laying the groundwork for the regime to build nuclear weapons with which to target the Jewish State.
US President Trump reportedly pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned against a direct strike behind the scenes, but has since backed Israel’s actions – albeit while calling for a peace deal between the two sides.
