NYTimes: The U.S, is defending Israel; explosions in Tel Aviv
An American official, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation, said that the U.S. military was helping Israel intercept some of the ballistic missiles. The official said that American military assets, already in the eastern Mediterranean to help defend American troops in the region, were used to intercept the missiles.
Iranian ballistic missiles struck at least seven sites around Tel Aviv on Friday night, hours after waves of Israeli strikes devastated Tehran’s military chain of command and hit critical nuclear facilities.
Explosions were heard over Jerusalem as missiles streaked overhead, while in Tel Aviv, Israeli television showed images of a damaged building and many mangled and burned cars from one of the impact sites in the area. Three hospitals in the area said they had received about 20 wounded people among them, describing their injuries as light and moderate. Fire officials said several people had been rescued from inside buildings struck by Iranian missiles.
In one area near Tel Aviv, officials said a 70-year-old woman was in critical condition after being pulled from the rubble of a building. A man was seriously injured with shrapnel wounds to the face, officials said. Officials said another man was treated with head injuries, burns and smoke inhalation from a fire. Thirty-four people were taken to hospitals in the area, officials said.
Israel’s strikes in Iran have killed 78 people, including senior military officials, and injured 329 others, Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the U.N. Security Council.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, told the Council that Israel’s strike Friday on Iran’s nuclear site near Natanz had destroyed its aboveground enrichment plant, causing chemical and radiological contamination.
Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, said in a statement that Iran “crossed a red line” by firing missiles at populated areas in Israel, warning that “the Ayatollah regime would pay a very heavy price” for its actions.
Some of the explosions above Israel appeared to be from interceptions of Iran’s missiles by Israel’s Iron Dome defensive system. Tracer fire from the ground could be seen streaking above the cities and sirens.
An American official, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation, said that the U.S. military was helping Israel intercept some of the ballistic missiles. The official said that American military assets, already in the eastern Mediterranean to help defend American troops in the region, were used to intercept the missiles.
Early reports from both Iran and Israel were difficult to immediately verify, as both countries claimed that their militaries had inflicted significant damage in the escalating conflict.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement that it had struck dozens of targets in Israel “forcefully and with precision,” including military and defense sites, in response to Israel’s attacks on Iran that killed senior commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. The New York Times could not independently verify that claim.Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said earlier that Israel “should anticipate a harsh punishment” for its daylong assault, as some of Israel’s European allies expressed worry that Israel was ratcheting up its military conflict with Iran.
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Waste of our money. Let Israel suffer the consequences of its actions. The consequences of its unprovoked attack on Iran. And the consequences of constantly getting us into wars that they engineered merely to kill off White dudes. Stop defending those freaks. Let Iran destroy them. America will be better off because we won’t have all our politicians controlled from Tel Aviv anymore.