Hezbollah Attacks Leave Seven Dead in Israel; IDF Responds
Seven lives were lost in northern Israel after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on the region
Israel launched a series of attacks with drones targeting multiple sites in Iran, triggering explosions and raising alarms across the region. ABC television, citing a US official, that a site was struck in Iran, while Iranian state media confirmed an explosion in the central part of the country.
The attack comes on the heels of a recent escalation, with Iran unleashing hundreds of drones towards Israel just days prior, as reported by Reuters. Fars news agency noted an explosion at an airport in Isfahan, though the cause remains undisclosed. Iran's state media announced the suspension of flights over Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran in the aftermath.
Isfahan province, a focal point of the recent attacks, houses several Iranian nuclear sites, including the crucial Natanz facility. Despite the chaos, Iranian state television reassured that nuclear installations remained unaffected. Reports indicated the sighting of three drones over Isfahan, prompting the activation of air defense systems which successfully downed the intruding drones.
While the city of Isfahan grappled with the aerial intrusion, sirens blared in northern Israel, sparking panic, though the Israeli military later confirmed it as a false alarm. ABC News extended the scope of the attacks, citing explosions not only in Isfahan but also in southern Syria's As-Suwayda province, as well as in the Baghdad area and Babil province in Iraq.
Saturday's drone and missile barrage by Iran, purportedly in retaliation for an attack on its consulate in Damascus, had set the stage for the current exchange. Tel Aviv, vowing retaliation, finds itself embroiled in a perilous standoff. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned of the region teetering on the brink of catastrophe, urging restraint and diplomatic solutions.
The timing of the attack, coinciding with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's 85th birthday, adds another layer of complexity to the already tense situation. As the dust settles, there are no immediate reports of casualties or injuries on either side, yet the reverberations of these strikes reverberate across the volatile landscape of the Middle East.
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