The raging conflict between Iran and Israel has entered its fourth day, with both sides targeting each other with new waves of missiles.
As both Iran and Israel broadened their strikes, causalities are mounting amid international calls for diplomacy and de-escalation.
New Wave of Iranian Missiles
Early on Monday, Iran launched a new wave of attacks on Israel, involving around 100 missiles. The strikes caused powerful explosions over Tel Aviv, according to the Associated Press (AP). Moreover, authorities in Petah Tikva, a city in central Israel, reported that an Iranian missile hit a building, causing severe damage and trapping people under rubble.
Furthermore, the Israeli MDA emergency service said that Iranian missile attacks killed five people and injured 92 others in central Israel. This raises the death toll in Israel since the beginning of the Iranian strikes to at least 23 people, in addition to more than 390 injured.
Hitting Strategic Targets
The Iranian strikes have damaged the local electricity grid in central Israel, CNN reported citing the Israel Electric Corporation. The coastal Israeli city of Haifa has also seen explosions that damaged buildings and set infrastructure ablaze, including an oil refinery.
Moreover, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that an Iranian missile fell near the American Consulate in Tel Aviv, causing minor damage resulting of the concussion, with no injuries to US personnel reported.
In a significant development, an Iranian missile struck the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, located south of Tel Aviv, on Sunday. The center is one of Israel’s most prominent scientific centers which provides support for the Israeli military through advanced research and technology in the fields of AI, UAV technologies, and other military technologies.
Targeting IRGC Commanders
In a further escalation, Israel said it targeted the Quds Force command centers in Tehran. The Quds Force is an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a statement, the Israeli military said that its Air Force fighter jets attacked the Quds Force command centers under precise intelligence, posting a video showing 10 sites targeted.
Moreover, the Israeli attacks hit government buildings, including the Iranian Foreign Ministry and many energy facilities. The Health Ministry in Iran said that the death toll of the Israeli attacks mounted to 224 people and 1,277 wounded, 90% of them civilians.
Harsh Response
On its part, Iran announced that the Israeli strikes killed three of its top commanders, including the IRGC Intelligence Chief, Mohammed Kazemi, and his deputy. The Israeli initial strikes on Friday killed the IRGC Commander, Hussien Salami, and other top military officials.
In response to these attacks, the IRGC vowed revenge, saying that the upcoming rounds of strikes would be “more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones.”
It also said that the latest attack on Israel deployed a new technique that caused Israel’s multi-layered defense systems to target each other, according to Reuters. “The initiatives and capabilities used in this operation, despite the comprehensive support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most up-to-date and newest defense technology, led to the successful and maximum hitting of the missiles on the targets in the occupied territories,’ it said.
Iran Nuclear Program
Israel said its attacks aim to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, the Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Monday that Tehran does not seek nuclear weapons, but it will pursue its right to develop nuclear energy and research.
Furthermore, the US President, Donald Trump, urged Iran and Israel to reach a peace deal. In a post on his Truth Social, Trump the two countries will have a deal. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place,” he wrote.
The US and Iran have held five rounds of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, aimed at reaching a new deal that curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, the Israeli military attacks on Iran led to the cancellation of the sixth round of talks, with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, saying that resuming nuclear talks with the US would be “unjustifiable” in light of Israeli strikes.
