Iran is ‘preparing imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel’

Iran is preparing to ‘imminently’ launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior U.S. administration official, who warned Tuesday of ‘severe consequences’ should it take place. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said the U.S. is actively supporting Israeli defensive preparations. Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist and political reporter for Axios, claimed the official said Iran is planning to attack ‘in the immediate time frame’.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari declared this afternoon that Israeli officials had received the intelligence update from Washington, but that no aerial threats from Iran had yet been detected. It comes just hours after the Israeli military warned the residents of more than two dozen Lebanese border communities to immediately evacuate their homes after announcing the start of ground operations against Hezbollah.

Israel Defence Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee told Lebanese citizens to flee north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometres (36 miles) from the border, raising fears that the IDF may intend to send its forces deep into southern Lebanon. ‘You must immediately head north of the Awali River to save yourselves, and leave your houses immediately,’ said the statement.

Israel’s defence forces (IDF) claimed to have launched ‘localised’ cross-border raids on southern Lebanon late last night, which Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said were designed to prevent Hezbollah from conducting an ‘October 7-style massacre’. ‘Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases ready for an attack on Israel,’ he said. Clips and images released by the IDF showed tanks, artillery and helicopters pounding targets just across the border, along with a video showing special forces seemingly preparing under the cover of night for a raid.

However, Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have contested Israel’s version of events, denying the claim that IDF troops had stepped foot on Lebanese soil. Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched waves of rockets at targets across Israel today, prompting officials to close beaches and limit the size of public gatherings. Air raid sirens sounded across northern and central Israel this morning as air defence systems sprang into action to down the Hezbollah rockets – but some projectiles appeared to sneak through.

Pictures and videos shared to social media showed the remnants of downed projectiles lying in the streets, while smoke was seen rising from buildings struck in Hezbollah’s attacks after explosions rang out in Tel Aviv. The Lebanese group claimed it launched a barrage of Fadi 4 missiles at Israeli Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv, the IDF 8200 intelligence unit in Glilot, as well as a series of other military targets. The Israeli military said their ground operations in Lebanon began in earnest on Monday night and involved the elite 98th division, which was deployed to the northern front two weeks ago from Gaza where they had been fighting against Hamas for months.

It said its air force and artillery supported ground troops engaged in ‘localised and targeted ground raids’ against Hezbollah in southern Lebanese villages. Israeli officials have insisted the raids will be limited in scale, adding they do not intend to launch a ground assault on Beirut or occupy swathes of Lebanon. The operation, which comes nearly a year on from Hamas ‘ October 7 attacks, was given the green light yesterday – three days after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was confirmed dead following a devastating attack in Beirut.

But Rear Admiral Hagari (pictured) added this afternoon that IDF special forces units had been conducting small scale raids to destroy Hezbollah tunnels along the border ever since October 7. Close to 3,000 militants from Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were allegedly waiting in southern Lebanon villages to attack Israel in the days after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. But they were forced back by Israeli airstrikes, allowing IDF commandos to conduct some 70 raids undetected in which they destroyed weapons caches, collapsed tunnels and gathered intelligence, Hagari said.

It was revealed this afternoon that the IDF also mobilised four additional brigades to be deployed in missions along the northern border in the wake of the latest ground incursions. ‘This will enable the continuation of operational activity against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and the achievement of operational goals, including the safe return of the residents of northern Israel to their homes,’ the army said in a statement.

The statement did not provide details about the new brigades being called up, but one brigade typically consists of 1,000 to 2,000 soldiers, while an armoured tank brigade has about 100 tanks. Meanwhile, Israel’s air force continued to pound targets across Lebanon with brutal airstrikes today, while also hitting Damascus in Syria and various locations in Gaza. Dystopian images that emerged early this morning showed Israeli flares and munitions lighting up the night sky in southern Lebanon, softening up Hezbollah positions in preparation for the IDF incursion.

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