logo
Iran Launches Waves Of Missile Strikes On Israel, Occupied Territories; IDF Bombards Tehran

Iran Launches Waves Of Missile Strikes On Israel, Occupied Territories; IDF Bombards Tehran

Time of India23-06-2025
A stunning dashcam video captured the moment an Iranian ballistic missile struck a major highway in southern Israel, sending debris flying across lanes as civilians scrambled for cover. Moments later, fresh air raid sirens echoed across northern Israel, with the IDF confirming multiple waves of missile launches from Iran. Civilians were ordered to stay in shelters as Israel's air defense systems intercepted some of the threats. The military said around 15 ballistic missiles were launched over a tense 40-minute window, marking one of the most intense barrages of the conflict. While no injuries were immediately reported, impacts were confirmed in several areas, including near Ashdod. Emergency teams rushed to multiple sites as regional tensions soared and fears of wider escalation mounted.#IranMissiles #IranIsraelTensions #OperationMidnightHammer #KhameneiSpeaks #MiddleEastCrisis #TrumpIranStrike #UNEmergency #NuclearStandoff #TelAvivThreat #GlobalEscalation #BreakingNews
Read More
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israel pounds Gaza City as military takes first moves in offensive
Israel pounds Gaza City as military takes first moves in offensive

The Hindu

time20 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Israel pounds Gaza City as military takes first moves in offensive

Israel hammered Gaza City and its outskirts overnight, residents said on Thursday (August 21, 2025), as the military announced it had taken initial steps in its push to capture Hamas's last major stronghold. The newly approved plan authorises the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists, deepening fears that the campaign will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. "We are not waiting. We have begun the preliminary actions, and already now, IDF (army) troops are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," said the Israeli military. Israel's plans to expand the fighting and seize Gaza City have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition. The Red Cross became the latest voice to condemn the plan on Thursday, calling it "intolerable". Ahead of the offensive, the Israeli military said the call-up of the reservists would begin in early September, adding the second phase of operation "Gideon's Chariots" had begun. Gaza City residents described relentless bombardments overnight. "The house shakes with us all night long — the sound of explosions, artillery, warplanes, ambulances, and cries for help is killing us," one of them, Ahmad al-Shanti, told AFP. "The sound is getting closer, but where would we go?" Another resident, Amal Abdel-Aal, said she watched the heavy strikes on the area, a week after being displaced from her home in Gaza City's Al-Sabra neighbourhood. "No one in Gaza has slept — not last night, not for a week. The artillery and air strikes in the east never stop. The sky flashes all night long," she added. Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said air strikes and artillery fire overnight targeted areas to the northwest and southeast of Gaza City. 'Nowhere safe to go' Late Thursday, the Israeli military detailed a range of operations across the Gaza Strip in recent weeks. It said the manoeuvres and strikes "created the conditions" for the military to intensify pressure on Hamas and lay the groundwork for the next stages of the campaign. The UN humanitarian agency has warned the Israeli plan to expand military operations in Gaza City would have "a horrific humanitarian impact" on the already exhausted population. "Forcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer," OCHA said. The UN Human Rights office in the Palestinian territories also voiced concern. "Hundreds of families have been forced to flee, including many children, persons with disabilities, and older people, with nowhere safe to go," it said. Others reportedly "remain trapped, completely cut off from food, water and medicine supplies", it added. The Israeli military said this week it had also begun informing medical personnel and aid groups in northern Gaza to start making evacuation plans and transferring their equipment to the south. As Israel tightened its grip on Gaza City's outskirts, meditators continued to wait for an official Israeli reaction to their latest ceasefire proposal that Hamas accepted earlier this week. 'Ball' in Israel's court Israel and Hamas have held a string of indirect negotiations throughout the nearly two-year conflict, paving the way for a pair of short ceasefires during which Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Of the 251 captives kidnapped during Hamas's October 2023 onslaught on southern Israel that triggered the war, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Sources from Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad told AFP this week that the latest ceasefire proposal calls for the release of 10 hostages and 18 bodies from Gaza. The remaining hostages would be released in a second phase alongside talks for a wider settlement. Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have overseen several rounds of shuttle diplomacy. Qatar said the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version approved by Israel, while Egypt said Monday that "the ball is now in its (Israel's) court". Late Wednesday, Hamas lambasted the plans to take control of Gaza City, saying in a statement it showed its "blatant disregard" for efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,122 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

At least 20 Palestinians, including 8 aid seekers killed, 2 starved to death as Israel intensify attacks on Gaza City
At least 20 Palestinians, including 8 aid seekers killed, 2 starved to death as Israel intensify attacks on Gaza City

New Indian Express

time4 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

At least 20 Palestinians, including 8 aid seekers killed, 2 starved to death as Israel intensify attacks on Gaza City

Israel on Thursday killed at least 20 Palestinians, including eight aid seekers, amid intensified attacks targeting Gaza City, a day after the military approved a plan for the complete occupation of Gaza. Besides, two people were starved to death by Israel on Thursday, raising the death toll from hunger and malnutrition to 271, including 112 children. The intensified attacks come as Israel refused to respond to a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, which was accepted by the Palestinian group Hamas. The proposal contains only slight modifications to an earlier one advanced by the United States and accepted by Israel, according to an Associated Press report citing Egyptian and Hamas officials. That US proposal was for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining Israelis held at Gaza would be released and the sides would negotiate a permanent ceasefire and the return of the rest. "We are not waiting. We have begun the preliminary actions, and already now, IDF (army) troops are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," the Israeli military said in a statement. Gaza City residents described relentless bombardments overnight. "The house shakes with us all night long -- the sound of explosions, artillery, warplanes, ambulances, and cries for help is killing us," one of them, Ahmad al-Shanti, told AFP. "The sound is getting closer, but where would we go?". Another resident, Amal Abdel-Aal, said she watched the heavy strikes on the area, a week after being displaced from her home in Gaza City's Al-Sabra neighbourhood. "No one in Gaza has slept -- not last night, not for a week. The artillery and air strikes in the east never stop. The sky flashes all night long," she added. Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said air strikes and artillery fire overnight targeted areas to the northwest and southeast of Gaza City. Israel's plans for the complete occupation of Gaza have faced resistance from both inside and outside the country. Several countries have called for an end to the genocidal war, which has so far killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, more than half of them being women and children. Israel has also targeted and killed at least 270 journalists, over 1000 healthcare workers and aid workers.

Trump v Iran: a negotiation made in hell
Trump v Iran: a negotiation made in hell

Mint

time8 hours ago

  • Mint

Trump v Iran: a negotiation made in hell

ABBAS ARAGHCHI is no stranger to the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva. He spent time there in 2013 working to negotiate an interim deal that froze parts of Iran's nuclear programme. It paved the way for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a more detailed agreement signed two years later. The latter was supposed to eliminate both the threat of an Iranian bomb and the threat of Israel attacking Iran. It did neither, because Donald Trump withdrew from the pact in 2018. When Mr Araghchi returned to the Intercontinental on June 20th, it was as a wartime foreign minister. Israel is now in its second week of a wide-ranging campaign of air strikes in Iran. It has assassinated the army leadership and struck at Iran's nuclear facilities; its air force flies freely over Tehran, the capital. Desperate for a deal that might end the war, Mr Araghchi met with his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and the EU. There is a window for a diplomatic solution. Israel wants America to join the war and strike Fordow, a deeply buried nuclear facility that its own bombs will struggle to reach. Mr Trump is considering it. But on June 19th Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the president was willing to talk first. He would decide 'whether or not to go within the next two weeks". The decision may come sooner, though: Mr Trump is unlikely to tolerate two weeks of unproductive talks. Arab officials have told Iran that it must do two things if it wants a deal. One is to negotiate directly with America; the other is to come prepared to make major concessions around its uranium-enrichment programme. So far, though, Iran seems unwilling to do either. Before the war Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's envoy, held five meetings with Mr Araghchi to discuss a new nuclear deal. At first it seemed as if America would pursue an agreement similar to the JCPOA, which allowed Iran to refine uranium to 3.67% purity. That could be used to manufacture fuel for nuclear reactors but was a far cry from the 90% needed to fashion a nuclear bomb. The deal also capped both the quantity and quality of Iran's centrifuges, the devices used to enrich uranium. Such restrictions were meant to buy time. Even if Iran decided to violate the deal, it would have needed around one year to produce a bomb's worth of fissile material. But a revived JCPOA could not restore such a long 'breakout time". Iran has spent the past few years mastering the nuclear-fuel cycle. It has enriched uranium to 60% purity, a short hop from weapons-grade; it has produced more and better centrifuges, and may have stashed some of its highly enriched uranium at secret facilities. The old deal is no longer on the table. America is now insisting on a zero-enrichment deal, in which Iran forswears any capacity to refine uranium. If Iran is willing to concede, America may well force Israel to end its war. On June 17th the Trump administration proposed a new round of negotiations between Messrs Araghchi and Witkoff. There were suggestions that J.D. Vance, the vice-president, might attend as well, to demonstrate that the talks were serious. But in public Iran rejected the idea of talking directly with America. The summit in Geneva seems to be a compromise. European countries had been frozen out of the talks earlier this year: neither America nor Iran wanted to include them. Now they are useful intermediaries. Still, even if America did not attend the talks, it was there in spirit. David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, was in Washington the day before the Geneva summit. He met Marco Rubio, his American counterpart, and Mr Witkoff. The Americans said they wanted to talk directly with Iran. And the Europeans, for their part, seem to be moving closer to America's position. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, now says he wants a deal that 'move[s] to zero enrichment". German diplomats make similar comments. If Iran thought Europe would be more flexible than America, it may be disappointed. Mr Trump has many reasons to hesitate about bombing Iran. It would be unpopular, for a start: 60% of Americans oppose getting involved in the war, with just 16% in favour, according to a poll from The Economist and YouGov. It would be particularly divisive within Mr Trump's MAGA coalition. It also may not work: some American and allied military officers doubt that even the enormous GBU-57, America's largest 'bunker-buster" bomb, could penetrate deeply enough to destroy Fordow. He and his aides are also fielding frantic calls from America's allies in the Gulf. Officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fear that American strikes could trigger Iranian retaliation against their country—and an exodus of rich expats. Khalaf al-Habtoor, a prominent Emirati businessman, warned in a social-media post that 'the region faces a real strategic danger". Bankers and consultants are fretting about the risk of nuclear fallout (a remote concern). All of this is deeply unnerving for a part of the Middle East that prides itself on being an oasis of stability. Iran is eager for a deal too. It has asked Cyprus, Oman, Qatar and the UAE to pass messages to America and Israel. There have also been several calls between Messrs Araghchi and Witkoff. So far, though, they seem to be talking past one another: diplomats in the region say Iran is still unwilling to concede on enrichment. Stubbornness was a viable strategy a decade ago, during the talks over the JCPOA. Barack Obama, the president at the time, gave up on his demands for a zero-enrichment deal when he realised Iran would not budge. It is less effective today, with Israeli jets roaring over Tehran—and America threatening to join them. Sign up to the Middle East Dispatch, a weekly newsletter that keeps you in the loop on a fascinating, complex and consequential part of the world.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store