Israel vows Iran ‘will pay’ for missile attack, sends more troops into Lebanon

A group of young Palestinian men take photos of a fallen rocket shell, believed to have been fired by Iran, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank last night.

Though Israel will decide when and how to respond to the Iranian missile attack, its response “will be noticed,” said Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. “It will be painful.”

“And I think that the people of Iran who are watching us understand that it’s not against the Iranian people, it’s against the radical regime that led the Iranian people into the situation,” he added.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel has lifted its shelter-in-place order for U.S. government employees and their family members, saying the threat of missile barrages has diminished. It said previous travel restrictions remain in place.

“The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is continuously and closely monitoring the security situation,” the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs said in a post on X.

Hezbollah said its fighters forced an Israeli infantry force to retreat from Lebanon’s southern town of Adaisseh today.

The Israeli soldiers tried to “infiltrate” Adaisseh but Hezbollah clashed with them, “inflicting losses” on the force and eventually repelled them, the Iran-backed militant group said in a statement.

The IDF has not yet commented on the claims, which would represent the first known clashes between the two sides on the ground in Lebanon.

The Israeli military says that infantry and armored units will join its invasion of southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah.

“The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade, and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday,” the IDF said in a post on Telegram.

“The soldiers are being accompanied by the IAF and the 282nd Artillery Brigade.”

Iran has “no intention of continuing” its strikes, foreign minister Abbas Aragchi said today, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, adding that its strikes on Israel last night were “a legitimate defensive right.”

“Any new move by the regime or its supporters will face an even tougher response from Iran,” he said. Aragchi said Iran, via a message to the Swiss embassy, also warned the U.S. to “step aside and not interfere.” He said later on state TV that there was no exchange of messages with the U.S. prior to the attack.

Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at several Israeli military targets overnight, which Aragchi said, can restore “geopolitical deterrence in the region.”

Israeli officials say Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles on Israel after days of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. A large number of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli and U.S. defenses. Israeli officials said they were unaware of any casualties. In Tel Aviv, a terrorist attack killed six people, Israeli police said.