Iran lauds ‘new method’ as missiles hit Israel’s Tel Aviv and Haifa, says Reuters
Iranian missiles struck Israel’s Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn on Monday, destroying homes and fueling concerns among world leaders at this week’s G7 meeting that the confrontation could lead to a broader regional conflict, Reuters writes.
Israel’s national emergency service said three people were killed and dozens injured in overnight strikes in the country’s center, part of a wave of attacks by Tehran in retaliation for Israel’s pre-emptive strikes targeting the nuclear and ballistic missile programs of Iran.
Around 30 people were wounded in Haifa. Fires were seen burning at a power plant near the port, media reported.
Several residential buildings in a densely populated neighborhood of Tel Aviv were destroyed in a strike that blew out the windows of hotels and other nearby homes just a few hundred meters from the U.S. Embassy branch in the city.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the latest attack employed a new method that caused Israel’s multi-layered defence systems to target each other and allowed Iran to successfully hit many targets.
“The initiatives and capabilities used in this operation, despite the comprehensive support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most modern and cutting-edge defense technologies, led to the successful and maximum destruction of missiles on targets in the occupied territories,” reads the statement.
The Israeli Defense Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. Israeli officials have repeatedly said its “Iron Dome” defense system is not 100% and warned of tough days ahead.
Law enforcement has announced that at least 10 people, including children, have been killed in previous strikes in Israel.
The death toll in Iran was already at least 224, with 90% of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.
The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) gathered in the Canadian Rockies on May 15, where the Israel-Iran conflict was expected to be a top issue. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his goals for the summit included preventing Iran from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel’s right to self-defense, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating space for diplomacy.
Before leaving for the summit on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump was asked what he was doing to de-escalate the situation. “I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal,” he told reporters.
In Washington, two U.S. officials told Reuters that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
When asked about the Reuters report, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu noted: “There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that. We do what we need to do.”
