It is Israel’s major escalation of its conflict with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, NBC News reported.
Missiles have been launched from Iran to Israel, the Israeli military says.
Earlier, White House and Defense Department officials said Iran was preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack at Israel after its invasion of southern Lebanon Washington is actively supporting preparations to defend its ally, the White House official said, warning of "severe consequences for Iran."
Israel earlier announced the invasion of southern Lebanon, launching what it calls a "limited, localized and targeted" ground operation aimed at pushing Hezbollah forces farther away from the border.
It follows weeks of escalating conflict with the Iran-backed militant group, which is reeling from the killing of its powerful leader Hassan Nasrallah. Both the U.S. and Israel warned Iran, which has vowed to respond to the expanding Israeli attacks on its proxies across the Middle East.
Intense Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced as many as 1 million in recent weeks, Lebanese officials say. The country "is facing one of the most dangerous stages in its history," its prime minister said this morning.
President Joe Biden called for a cease-fire “right now,” but U.S. officials appeared to offer their support to a limited Israeli operation just days after Washington outlined a truce proposal.
The shooting was reported at around 7 p.m. (noon ET) on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, which is a port city in southern Tel Aviv, according to a spokesperson for Magen David Adom.
According to the Israeli police, there are multiple casualties and the incident is suspected to be an act of terror.
Paramedics on the scene treated "a number of injured people with varying degrees of injury, including those who are unconscious," the MDA spokesperson said.
Iran launched missiles into Israel "a short while ago," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement this evening.
NBC News teams in Tel Aviv heard sirens sound throughout the city in central Israel, and residents recieved alerts instructing them to head to shelters.
The United Arab Emirates has expressed “deep concern” over the escalation in Lebanon.
In a statement, the government urged the international community to “halt the escalation and prevent further loss of life,” and reaffirmed its “unwavering position towards the unity of Lebanon, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 through bilateral agreements known as the Abraham Accords, a huge breakthrough for the Jewish state.
Israel could be “trying to soften Hezbollah’s defenses” and probe its weak points with its incursion into southern Lebanon, according to Fawaz A. Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.
Although Israel has suggested the invasion will consist of “limited, localized and targeted ground raids,” Gerges said in a phone interview with NBC News that he feared the efforts could come ahead of a potentially larger invasion.
Israel likely sees a “golden opportunity” to deepen its assault on Hezbollah after killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, in addition to “exploding” part of the militant and political group’s communication system.
“I think what Israel is trying to do is to use this particular moment in order to try to paralyze Hezbollah, to try to demoralize Hezbollah,” he said, adding that it could be trying to push the group out of southern Lebanon.
