Iran has launched up to 30 missiles towards Israel, triggering sirens from the Upper Galilee to Ashdod. Explosions were heard across central areas, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, with interceptions reported. Following US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, the risk of wider escalation in the region has intensified. Media censorship in Israel has restricted coverage, though damage and civilian casualties are mounting. Public shelters remain active as the threat of further attacks persists across major Israeli cities. Iranian allies like Hezbollah and the Houthis have signalled their intent to join the conflict. While fatigue over Gaza lingers, most Israelis continue to back military action against Iran.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh joins us from Amman, Jordan, to discuss the latest developments.
00:00We have some news coming in now of reports of explosions over Tel Aviv.
00:07The Israeli military saying missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel.
00:11Let's bring in Noor Odeh in Amman, Jordan, for us, keeping an eye on the situation in Israel.
00:17What more are you hearing about this, Noor?
00:18We are hearing that there are up to 30 Iranian missiles that have been launched at Israel.
00:31A few moments ago, we heard the sirens here in Amman.
00:35Shortly after that, there were warnings and sirens going off in Israel.
00:40And the area that is under warning is quite large, from the Upper Galilee all the way to the northern coast and the central area.
00:50So the Upper Galilee, Naharia, Tel Aviv, and so on, all the way to Ashdod, further down in the south.
00:58All those areas are under advisement that everybody living there should be in shelters, that there will be incoming.
01:07And loud explosions have been heard, especially in the central area, in the larger Tel Aviv area.
01:14We're seeing some visuals of the attempts at interception.
01:19But we haven't had details yet about where exactly are the targets and what areas are affected.
01:27Of course, we have to remind our viewers that the reason why information is so difficult to obtain
01:31is because there is a prison sentence that citizens and journalists have been threatened with from the military censor.
01:41And so information is a bit difficult to obtain about the targets themselves and what is going on in terms of visual confirmation.
01:48Right. And we can hear explosions now.
01:50Let's listen on these live pictures from Tel Aviv.
01:54Several loud explosions heard over Tel Aviv, Israel, following the U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities a few hours ago.
02:18So the Israeli military says several missiles have been launched towards Israel from Iran.
02:25This is the first sign of them from these live pictures and sound we're getting from Tel Aviv right now.
02:31Noor Oday is with us.
02:33Noor, of course, they have been in the last week several missiles launched from Iran towards Israel,
02:40which have led to significant damage within Israel and even deaths, of course.
02:45Remind us of what's happened over the last week.
02:47Over the last week, Foley, we've seen hundreds of Iranian missiles launched at Israel.
02:58In the beginning, there were large volleys and many, most of them were intercepted.
03:05But over the past few days, we've seen fewer Iranian missiles, but a lot, a lot more damage,
03:11especially in the areas where people were able to, you know, publish videos and photos.
03:19Because, again, we don't know all the places where those missiles have landed.
03:24But where we do know they have.
03:27We've seen buildings collapse.
03:29We've seen Israelis killed and get trapped under the rubble.
03:33We've seen extensive damage to infrastructure.
03:36We've seen also buildings and facilities like the Soroka Hospital also suffering extensive damage
03:46from the heat of the blast of missiles targeting areas nearby that are described in Israel as sensitive locations.
03:55So this is, you know, Israelis are bracing themselves.
03:59And in the morning, we were just talking a few minutes ago, Foley, that it is quite early.
04:04But already Israel prepared its citizens that they expect the initial response to be directed at Israel,
04:11not at U.S. troops.
04:12And that really has played out quite quickly.
04:15Israel is also talking about the potential of involvement from Hezbollah in the north.
04:21And that would further complicate things and really put a lot more Israelis in the crosshairs afire.
04:29We have seen the initial response already, Noor.
04:31With these live pictures, we're getting on Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
04:34Several explosions heard over Tel Aviv in the last few minutes.
04:37Interceptions also seen in the sky over Jerusalem as the Israeli military says missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel.
04:45This coming a few hours after the U.S. attacked three Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.
04:56Noor, I want to ask you, you talked about the risk of escalation, of course, in the region.
05:02We are also now hearing from Yemen's Houthis who say the ceasefire deal with the U.S. was before the war with Iran
05:11and that there are now options on the table.
05:15The Yemen's Houthis saying the response to the U.S. attack on Iran, only a matter of time.
05:21So Iran's allies in the region likely to respond also, Noor.
05:26Absolutely.
05:31And we've heard also from Hamas, from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
05:34And earlier we had heard from Hezbollah warning against any targeting of the supreme leader of Iran.
05:42Let's remember how the peoples of the region view what is happening right now.
05:47This is, to their eyes and ears, extremely Orwellian.
05:51The U.S. president striking Iran, talking about peace, describing Iran as the bully of the Middle East
05:59when they have seen and experienced and lost loved ones for decades because of Israeli occupation in Palestine, in Lebanon, and now also in Syria.
06:11They are looking at this and they are trapped in a situation, not of their choosing, in a situation where they are completely defenseless.
06:21And even if they are not involved, even if they are not exactly allied with the government in Iran,
06:28people here do feel under attack and they feel that peace in this context, in this political context of the U.S. administration,
06:37means absolute surrender to Israel.
06:41Okay, we have some images now of the latest explosions in Haifa.
06:46These would be the interceptions seen in the skies, the interceptions of the Israeli missile defense systems
06:53after several missiles were launched from Iran towards Israel.
07:00Noor, let me just ask you about the public mood in Israel.
07:05There is, of course, support for attacks on Iran.
07:08We have talked about this throughout the week here on Al Jazeera.
07:12But curious to know about the Israeli public's sentiment as their country gets involved in yet another conflict.
07:21There is Gaza, which is still ongoing, of course.
07:24There was a war with Lebanon, Hezbollah in Lebanon last year.
07:27Is there not a sense of fatigue among the Israeli public to these never-ending conflicts that their country,
07:34their government gets their country involved in?
07:37Well, one would think there is, but really, when it comes to Iran, there is still widespread public support.
07:48The Israeli public was fed up with the war on Gaza.
07:52They had other priorities.
07:53They don't trust Benjamin Netanyahu's motivations for this endless genocidal war.
07:59But on Iran, he has still managed to convince the public that this is worth it.
08:05We'll have to wait and see in the coming days how that will play out.
08:08Let me just tell you that in the past few minutes, I've been receiving, you know, descriptions and messages from my contacts in Palestine, but also in Israel.
08:18And they're describing the explosions they hear, that they feel like earthquakes.
08:23These are probably large missiles.
08:25They are shaking the homes and the windows of all involved, all the way to the occupied West Bank, where people do feel these explosions.
08:35They don't know where they're going to fall, but as you said, we've seen explosions over at Tel Aviv, and now we're hearing reports about something possibly in Haifa, but still waiting to hear of confirmation.
08:49We can see one visual confirmation of an impact, direct impact, in Haifa coming in just in the past few minutes.
08:57And we have those visuals on our screen right now, Noor, of that explosion in Haifa, Israel.
09:03Also, the explosions heard over Tel Aviv in just a few minutes.
09:07Hopefully, we can show those visuals again.
09:09We'll keep a close eye on the situation in Israel following these missiles that were launched from Iran in just the last few minutes with you, Noor Oday.
09:18That is Haifa.
09:19That's the explosion that Noor was talking about in Haifa, just a moment.
09:24Make sure to subscribe to our channel to get latest news from Al Jazeera.
