Israel, Iran exchange more deadly air strikes on fifth day of conflict

UPI

5 hours ago

June 16 (UPI) -- Israel and Iran intensified their deadly air strikes Monday on the fifth day after Israel launched its first attack to dismantle Iran's nuclear capability.
Hundreds of people have been killed, including 224 in Iran and 24 in Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strikes a significant setback to Iran's nuclear program.
"I estimate we are sending them back a very, very long time," Netanyahu told reporters.
Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv late Monday, the central Israeli city of Bat Yam and the Palestinian-Israeli town of Tamra as Israel Defense Forces told residents to rush to bomb shelters.
"Israel's defense systems are currently working to intercept the threat," the IDF said in a statement, before allowing Northern Israel residents to leave.
Iran said its ninth wave of attacks will continue through Tuesday morning, according to Iranian media.
Israel said three workers at the country's Bazan Group oil company were killed earlier in the day. The power plant, which was significantly damaged, is responsible for steam and electricity production.
Iran also warned Israel to evacuate two Israeli television headquarters after an Iranian state television station in Tehran was struck and one of its workers was killed.
President Donald Trump announced Monday he would leave the Group of Seven summit in Canada to monitor the situation in the Middle East, as he warned Iranians to "immediately evacuate Tehran."
"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social before leaving the summit. "Simply stated, Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!"
As Trump returned to Washington, D.C., U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered "the deployment of additional capabilities."
"Protecting U.S. forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region," Hegseth wrote in a post on X.
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group was moving toward the Middle East to join the USS Carl Vinson. The Defense Department also announced it would move aircraft to the European and Central Command theaters to support U.S. bases in the region, according to the Navy Times.
While attending the G7 summit, Trump had been in contact throughout the day with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. Trump and Rubio returned to Washington, D.C., on Monday night, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Over the weekend, Israel's strikes killed top Iranian military commanders and scientists and targeted nuclear infrastructure. While Trump has rejected any plan to kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Netanyahu was not ruling it out Monday, according to ABC News.
Thousands of Israel's residents have evacuated in response to Iran's strikes, according to Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
"Our teams have handled, as of Saturday, 14,583 claims for direct damage from the attacks from Iran," Smotrich said Monday.
"We are assisting 2,775 residents who were evacuated from their homes, most of whom were accommodated in hotels through local authorities in a model we determined in advance," he added.
So far, we have identified 24 structures, buildings that are designated for demolition."