Israel bombs Iran: As it happened
West Jerusalem has launched a retaliatory wave of airstrikes against Tehran. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has claimed that it is only targeting military installations with its “precise strikes.”
The attack comes after Iran’s October 1 strike on the Jewish state, when it fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the killing of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders as well as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general.
The IDF insisted following the strike that the majority of the projectiles had been intercepted. Tehran, however, has claimed that it was able to hit several Israeli military targets.
Following the October 1 attack, Israel threatened to deliver a “deadly, pinpoint accurate, and surprising” retaliation, without specifying any time frame. Alleged details of possible Israeli targets were leaked to media last week. Tehran has pledged a “decisive and regretful” response to any Israeli strikes.
27 October 2024
16:14 GMTThis live stream has ended.
- 10:52 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the country’s airstrike on Iran was “precise and powerful” and had achieved all of its objectives.
“We promised we would respond to the Iranian attack and on Saturday we struck... We kept our promise. The air force attacked Iran and hit Iran’s defense capabilities and missile production,” he said.
- 09:55 GMT
Iranian officials should be the ones to determine how best to respond to the Israeli attack and show the country’s power, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday.
“The Zionist regime made a wrong move two nights ago. We must make them understand the power, determination, and initiative of the Iranian people,” Khamenei said.
- 09:16 GMT
At least 35 people were injured when a truck hit a bus stop in Ramat Hasharon in central Israel, according to emergency services. The police have stated that they are treating the incident as a terror attack.
- 07:35 GMT
Tehran has a right to respond to Israel’s attack, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said in a televised address before a closed-door meeting. He added that the attacks had been a failure.
“The Zionist regime has no achievement but genocide and the mass murder of defenseless children and women in Gaza and Lebanon, and today, it has no credibility on the international stage,” Ghalibaf said as cited by local media.
- 07:31 GMT
The security cabinet will discuss “the Israeli attack on Iran and the possibility of an Iranian response” on Sunday, an unnamed Israeli official told CNN.
- 04:42 GMT
The IDF shared additional redacted images of the air crews preparing for the raid against Iran, suggesting that several female pilots and navigators participated in the mission.
Part 2: pic.twitter.com/yR58jQsB6F
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 26, 2024 - 03:58 GMT
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has yet to publicly comment on the Israeli airstrikes against his country; however, in a surprise move, his office launched a Hebrew-language account on X on Saturday night.
”In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful,” reads the first and only post so far, which was reposted by Khamenei's verified English-language account, which has more than 1.3 million followers.
בשם אללה הרחמן והרחום
— Khamenei.ir Hebrew (@Khamenei_Heb) October 26, 2024 - 03:34 GMT
Tokyo has expressed “deep concern” about the “exchanges of attacks” between Israel and Iran, urging the sides to “exercise maximum restraint and to calm the situation, as peace and stability in the Middle East region are extremely important to Japan.”
“On October 26, the State of Israel conducted an attack against military facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Japan is deeply concerned about the exchanges of attacks, including this attack, and strongly condemns any action that escalates the situation,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On October 26, Statement by Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi, regarding the attack by Israel against Iran, was issued.#FMStatementhttps://t.co/IRk6YlfkdKpic.twitter.com/UfnB09lDPs
— MOFA of Japan (@MofaJapan_en) October 26, 2024 - 02:55 GMT
The IDF has reportedly decided to postpone the recruitment of soldiers for one week, over fears that Iran could retaliate with a new missile attack on Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post.