Israel-Iran battle escalates, civilians urged to evacuate target areas
Israel and Iran continued exchanging attacks that killed and wounded civilians, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further strikes.
The Iranian death toll in four days of Israeli strikes had reached at least 224, with 90 per cent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.
Early on Monday, the Israeli military said it had detected more missiles launched from Iran towards Israel.
"At this time, the (Israeli Air Force) is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat," the Israeli Defence Forces said. Live video footage showed several missiles over Tel Aviv and Reuters witnesses said explosions could be heard there and over Jerusalem.
At least 10 people in Israel, including children, have been killed so far, according to authorities there.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his goals for the G7 summit include for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel's right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.
"This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit," Merz told reporters.
Before leaving for the summit on Sunday, US 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. "Sometimes they have to fight it out."
Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday.
First daylight attack on Israel
Explosions shook Tel Aviv on Sunday during Iran's first daylight missile attack since Israel's strike on Friday. Shortly after nightfall, Iranian missiles hit a residential street in Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Arab city, and in Israel's south.
In Bat Yam, a city near Tel Aviv, residents braced on Sunday evening for another sleepless night after an overnight strike on an apartment tower.
Images from Tehran showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran's oil and gas sector - raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.
Trump vetoes plan to target Khamenei, officials say
In Washington, two US 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 told Fox News on Sunday, "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," he told Fox's Special Report With Bret Baier.
Israel began the assault with a surprise attack on Friday that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will escalate in the coming days.
The intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were killed in attacks on Tehran on Sunday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
Iran has vowed to retaliate.
Trump warns Iran not to attack
Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part and warning Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets.
Two US officials said on Friday the US military had helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel.
The US president has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but which Western countries and the IAEA nuclear watchdog say could be used to make an atomic bomb.
The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the US, due on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack.
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It's Sunday afternoon on Ibn Gabirol street, one of Tel Aviv's main thoroughfares, and all is quiet. Usually, this place would be crowded with people, buses and cars. But since Israel launched its deadly attacks across Iran on Friday, there have been unusual scenes in Israel's largest city. Iran's response to those Israeli attacks means Tel Aviv has not yet returned to normal. The state of emergency declared by Defence Minister Israel Katz immediately after Israel's decision to attack remains intact. Cafes, shops, schools and public transport are either shut or operating in a limited capacity. Katz's state of emergency has been accompanied by some ferocious rhetoric. 'The boastful dictator from Tehran has become a cowardly murderer who fires deliberately at the civilian home front in Israel in order to deter the IDF [Israeli army] from continuing the attack that is crumpling its capabilities,' the defence minister said. 'The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The vice rector of Tel Aviv University echoed these words, saying Israel's goal in the war should be 'the elimination of the regime in Iran'. The death toll from Iranian strikes as of Monday was 13, while Israel's attacks on Iran have killed more than 220, including 70 women and children. 'These are the most stressful moments since the war began' - Amit, Tel Aviv resident The Iranian missile attacks have caused extensive destruction throughout Israel, especially in the cities of Gush Dan, an area in central Israel that includes Tel Aviv and is home to about four million people. Israeli authorities are not allowing citizens to leave the country and go abroad – and those not in the country cannot currently return. Hundreds of Israelis have been injured in the missiles strikes, with footage showing extensive destruction to homes and the surroundings. According to The Marker, the economic branch of Haaretz, 'Israelis have stormed food stores,' since the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran began. 'There have been shortages of basic products at retailers. Throughout the country, there were reports of shortages of milk, eggs, vegetables and water bottles.' 'It's very hard to live in this country' Eitan and Amit, a young couple from Tel Aviv, have been worried since the beginning of the Iranian attacks. 'For the first time since the beginning of the war [October 2023], we went down to the shelter with the emergency kit we had prepared at the beginning of the war,' the couple told Middle East Eye. 'We saw the hits and the pictures,' Amit said of the footage of missile damage. 'These are the most stressful moments since the war began." 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There are no shelters for Israel's Arab communities and Iranian missiles have showed that safe rooms in Israeli homes do not provide sufficient protection. Niv said Iran had 'managed to cause pressure so that the whole of Tel Aviv is empty… Now, the citizens are in a state of shock, but within a few days people will be back in the streets.' Deadly strikes in Bat Yam and Tamra In the early hours of Sunday, six people were killed and dozens more wounded by a missile strike in Bat Yam, a city south of Tel Aviv. In Tamra, a Palestinian town in northern Israel, four family members were killed when their home was hit. 'The destruction is really something we haven't known before. Massive destruction, like in a scene from a movie' - Tzvika Brot, mayor of Bam Yat There has been massive property damage across Israel. Shai Aharonovitch, director of the Israel Tax Authority, said in an interview with Ynet that 'it is still too early to determine the exact numbers, of course, but the damage is enormous. 'The damages are probably already several hundred million shekels, and I estimate that it reached one billion shekels ($286m) already after the bombardment so far,' Aharonovitch said. 'It's a very, very difficult morning, we were actually here at 2:30am in a scene the likes of which we haven't really seen,' said the mayor of Bat Yam, Tzvika Brot, in an interview with Radio 103FM. 'The destruction is really something we haven't known before. Massive destruction, like in a scene from a movie, you get out of the car, a main street full of dust, like the World Trade Centre disaster,' Brot added. Netanyahu in the bunker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene of the strike in Bat Yam after he was criticised for hiding in a state bunker. 'Iran will pay a very high price for the murder of women, children and innocent civilians, and it will happen soon,' Netanyahu wrote on his X account. 'We are in an existential battle, against a cruel enemy that is planning annihilation.' Hadas Klein, a key witnesses in Netanyahu's corruption trial, hit out at the government's conduct on X. 'A bunch of cowardly frails. They hide in shelters and tweet. Children are murdered, killed, dozens are missing. Ruins, destruction of entire streets,' Klein said. 'Get out to the streets, wretched leaders.' US deports two Palestinians who landed with valid visas for an interfaith mission Read More » But in Tel Aviv, a city that is considered a bastion of liberalism in Israel, not everyone is as critical of the government and its leader. "I'm dying of fear, there will be hard days here, there will be sleepless nights, but we can cope," Daniel told MEE. "I wouldn't vote for this government, but at this time I have to trust them. This is not the time to criticise the government," she added, saying Netanyahu had more important things to do than attend the site of every missile hit. Niv echoed Daniel's words. "I think Netanyahu has been performing exceptionally well so far. He is leading us to a situation where we won't have any more enemies," the football coach said. Eitan and Amit's feelings are more mixed. "A war must end with a strategic solution. We don't see that, both in Gaza and now," Eitan told MEE. "What's the goal? We bombed, and what now?" said Eitan, referring to the strategic thinking behind starting a war with Iran. "If the result is that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon, then the price is bearable," Niv said. "I think it's worth the price. There was no other option."
