Minister Israel Katz has warnedIran that“Tehran will burn” if it continues firing missiles at Israel as tensions escalated between the two nations. His comments came after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel following Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear, missile and military complex. “The Iraniandictatoris turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and creating a reality in which they, especially the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal attack on Israeli civilians,” Katz said during a situation assessment with Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Mossad director DavidBarnea,andothertopmilitaryofficials.

 

“If (Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” the Israeli Defence Minister asserted. Israel has so far kept its attacks limited to Iranian nuclear and military installations and has targeted key officials attached to them. Iran has fired some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in several barrages since last night, the IDF said. Most of the missiles were intercepted by air defences, it claimed. Around 25%, less than 50, were not intercepted “according to protocol” allowing them to strike open areas without causing damage to any critical infrastructure.

 

A“smallnumber”ofmissiles made it through air defences and caused casualties and damage, including in residentialareasinTelAviv,RamatGan and Rishon Lezion in central Israel, the Army said. ThreeIsraelisaresaidtohave been killed and some 70 otherswoundedin theIranianmissile attacks. The IDF said that all of its bases, including air bases, are operating as usual with no harm to their functionality. Several drones fired atIsrael overnight, in addition to the 100 fired on Friday, were shot down by the Israeli Air Force and Navy. Meanwhile,ZamirandIsraeli AirForcechief,TomerBar,have said that “the way to Tehran has been paved”, stressing that the Israeli jets can now freely operate in the Iranian capital.