IDF chief says Israel ‘will choose’ when to retaliate after Iran fires 180 missiles at Israel

Palestinian killed by shrapnel in West Bank * US calls on ‘every nation’ to condemn Iranian attack * Israeli airspace reopens * 6 killed, several more wounded in Jaffa shooting attack

7:38 pm
Iranian president hails missile attack as 'decisive response' to Israeli 'aggression'
7:37 pm
IDF chief says Israel 'will choose when to exact the price' in response to Iran attack
7:33 pm
Pentagon: US Navy destroyers fired dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles
7:27 pm
Video on social media apparently shows cars in long line for gas in Iran

By TOI STAFF
Today, 4:51 am
Footage shows an Iranian missile attack on Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters/Anadolu Agency/Ahikam Seri/AFPTV/AFP)
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.

10:38 pm
Iranian president hails missile attack as ‘decisive response’ to Israeli ‘aggression’

By AFP

Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel as seen from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hails Tehran’s missile attack against Israel as a “decisive response” to what he called Israeli “aggression.”

“In accordance with legitimate rights and with the aim of [establishing] peace and security in Iran and the region, a decisive response has been made to the Zionist regime’s aggression,” Pezeshkian posts on X.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 38th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Iran, on September 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

10:37 pm
IDF chief says Israel ‘will choose when to exact the price’ in response to Iran attack

By EMANUEL FABIAN

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with officers at the IDF HQ following the Iranian attack on Israel, October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, following an assessment this evening, says Israel will respond to the Iranian attack.

“We proved our ability to prevent the enemy from an achievement, by combining exemplary civil behavior and a very strong air defense array,” he says in remarks provided by the IDF.

“We will choose when to exact the price, and prove our precise and surprising attack capabilities, in accordance with the guidance of the political echelon,” Halevi adds.

10:33 pm
Pentagon: US Navy destroyers fired dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles

By REUTERS

Anti-missile system fires interceptors as missiles are fired from Iran at Israel, as it seen over Jerusalem, on October 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Pentagon says that two US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles aimed at Israel tonight.

Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder tells reporters that no other US military assets were used to shoot down the missiles, which were all fired from inside Iran.

10:27 pm
Video on social media apparently shows cars in long line for gas in Iran

Video posted to social media appears to show long lines of cars waiting to get gas in Iran amid concerns of a response after Tehran fired 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.

The footage cannot be immediately verified.

נערכים לתגובה ישראלית: האיראנים נוהרים לתחנות הדלק מחשש שתקיפה תשפיע על חלוקתו וכי הם ידרשו לברוח מאזורים מותקפים@AmichaiStein1 pic.twitter.com/nodqNvEGvy

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 1, 2024

10:25 pm
US official says Iranian attack on Israel ‘appears to have been defeated and ineffective’

By JACOB MAGID

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks about the situation in Israel during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2024. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says Iran’s missile attack against Israel “appears to have been defeated and ineffective.”

“There will be severe consequences for this attack and we will work with Israel to make that the case,” Sullivan says during a press briefing at the White House.

Pressed on what that response might look like, Sullivan says the US has already begun discussing the issue with Israel and that those conversations will continue, but he declines to offer additional details.

Sullivan says Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in tonight’s attack, and that US naval destroyers joined Israeli air defense units in firing interceptors that shot down inbound missile.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the attack from the White House Situation Room with their national security aides.

The US is still working to assess the damage of the attack but currently believes the only casualty was a Palestinian man reportedly killed in the West Bank city of Jericho, Sullivan adds.

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel,” says the top Biden aide.

“We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure first and foremost American interests and then to promote stability — to the maximum extent possible — as we go forward,” he says.

Hailing the apparent success in thwarting the attack, Sullivan says this is thanks primarily to the IDF’s professionalism but also “the skilled work of the US military and meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack.”

“We are proud of the actions that we’ve taken alongside Israel to protect and defend Israel,” Sullivan says.

Sullivan makes no mention of a regional coalition that took part in thwarting the attack, as was the case in April when the UK, France, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all assisted in shooting down Iranian missiles and drones. Israel’s ties with each of those countries have deteriorated in the months since amid the ongoing war in Gaza and expanding war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Sullivan notes the terror attack that also took place tonight in Jaffa, expressing condolence to the victims in addition to the victim of the Iranian missile attack in Jericho.

10:20 pm
Iran’s Khamenei threatens ‘stronger and more painful’ attack on Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking during a meeting with Iran's president and his cabinet in Tehran on August 27, 2024. (Khamenei.ir/AFP)

After firing 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweets an illustration of a large underground weapons cache, warning that victory for Tehran is near

“Victory comes from Allah and it is close,” he writes.

In broken Hebrew, Khamenei tweets a message threatening that the “blows of the uprising front will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime.”

בעזרת השם, מכות חזית ההתקוממות יהפכו חזקות וכואבות יותר על הגוף השחוק והנרקב של המשטר הציוני.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 1, 2024

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claims that it targeted “three military bases” near Tel Aviv, in a statement carried by news agency ISNA.

10:18 pm
In call with Netanyahu, Starmer expresses UK’s ‘steadfast commitment to Israeli security’

By AFP

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed on September 26, 2024 in New York. (Leon Neal/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemns Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel “in the strongest terms,” his office says.

During a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Starmer also “expressed the UK’s steadfast commitment to Israeli security and the protection of civilians,” according to a readout of the call from Starmer’s office.

10:05 pm
Iran says it did not give US prior notice of ballistic missile attack on Israel

By AGENCIES and TOI STAFF

An anti-Israel sign is displayed in Tehran's Palestine Square on October 1, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
Iran did not give the United States prior notice of its attack on Israel, Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York says.

“No notice was given to the United States prior to our response; however, a serious warning was issued afterwards,” the Iranian mission says in a statement.

Hours ahead of the attack, the US said it had “indications” that Iran was preparing to fire at Israel.

9:56 pm
IDF: Troops open fire after Palestinian suspects approach in Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor; 3 reported dead

By EMANUEL FABIAN and AP

Dozens of Palestinian suspects began to approach Israeli forces in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip this evening, the IDF says.

The military says the suspects “posed a threat,” and the troops opened fire at them.

No soldiers were hurt in the incident, which the IDF says is “under control.”

Palestinian medical officials say that Israeli forces killed at least three people trying to return to their homes in the northern Strip.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Bahah says that IDF troops opened fired at the men. An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances taking people to the hospital, and counted the bodies. The officials said the men were among a group of people trying to return to their homes.

9:55 pm
Tehran-backed Iraqi militias warn US against any ‘hostile action’ against Iran

By AP

BEIRUT — Iran-backed Iraqi militias say if the US takes part in “any hostile action” against Iran then American interests in the region will be under threat.

The statement from the group calling itself the Coordination Committee for the Iraqi Resistance also warns Israel against using Iraqi airspace to retaliate against Iran for a missile barrage fired at Israel, saying “all American bases and interests in Iraq and the region will be our target.”

Iran-backed militias in Iraq regularly target bases housing US forces in Iraq and Syria with drones, saying they are retaliating for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.