Wednesday Briefing: Iran Launched Ballistic Missiles at Israel

Iran fired several waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, a sudden assault that left Israel fighting simultaneously on three fronts. The attack was a sharp escalation in the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran, and raises the likelihood of an all-out war between two of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East. Here’s the latest.

Iran fired about 180 missiles during its assault, the Israeli military said, making the barrage one of the largest of its kind. Many of the missiles were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system, while some fell in central and southern Israel, according to the Israeli military. One Palestinian man was killed by falling shrapnel in the occupied West Bank; there were no immediate reports of casualties in Israel.

Background: The attack was the culmination of a dizzying sequence of events over less than 24 hours, beginning with Israel launching an invasion into Lebanon to pursue Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia. Israel pounded Lebanon from the air throughout the day yesterday as its troops advanced on the ground, and Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.

What’s next: The region remains on edge. The Israeli military said it would respond in a manner and time of its choosing, and Iran said it would fire more missiles if Israel counterattacked. A senior White House official said the U.S. would defend Israel, and warned that a direct attack against Israel would “carry severe consequences for Iran.”