Israel, Iran strike each other in fresh attacks

KABUL (Pajhwok): Israel and Iran have exchanged a fresh wave of strikes, fuelling fears of a wider conflict after Israel intensified its military campaign against its main regional rival.

The latest wave of Iranian strikes began shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, when air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and Haifa, sending around one million people into bomb shelters, according to Reuters.

At approximately 2:30 a.m. (2330 GMT Saturday), the Israeli military issued another warning of an incoming missile barrage and urged residents to seek immediate shelter.

Explosions rang out across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as missiles streaked through the skies, intercepted by Israeli defence systems. The military lifted its shelter-in-place advisory nearly an hour later.

According to emergency services, at least seven people were killed overnight, including a 10-year-old boy and a woman in her twenties. More than 140 others were injured in multiple attacks.

Israeli media reported that at least 35 people were missing following a strike on Bat Yam, a city south of Tel Aviv.

A spokesperson for the emergency services said a missile had hit an eight-storey building. While many residents were rescued, there were confirmed fatalities. The full extent of the damage across affected buildings remains unclear.

Since Iran began its retaliatory attacks on Friday, at least nine people have been killed and over 300 wounded in Israel.

Iran has reported that 78 people were killed on the first day of Israel’s campaign, with dozens more casualties the following day.

Among the dead were 60 people killed when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran—29 of them children.

Iranian officials said the Shahran oil depot in Tehran was targeted in an Israeli strike, but the situation was under control. A fire broke out at an oil refinery near the capital, while Israeli airstrikes also hit a building belonging to Iran’s Ministry of Defence, causing only minor damage, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

US President Donald Trump warned Iran of further consequences but noted that it was not too late to halt Israel’s campaign if Tehran agreed to a significant rollback of its nuclear programme.

A round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Oman was cancelled. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that discussions could not proceed while Iran was enduring what he described as Israel’s “barbarous” attacks.

On Saturday, Iranian General Esmail Kosari stated that Tehran was reconsidering whether to close the Strait of Hormuz—a key chokepoint for global oil shipments.

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