IDF sends extra troops into Lebanon - as Hezbollah 'fires missile salvo' at Israel

Israeli air bases, school and locations near Mossad HQ hit, Sky News finds

Sky News has identified at least seven locations in Israel that were hit in Iran's missile attack. 

These include two Israeli air bases, a school grounds and two close to the area suspected of housing Mossad's HQ.

The most impacted civilian area appears to be to the north of Tel Aviv.

It's not clear at this stage whether the impacts are caused by Iranian missiles or fragments from air defences.

At one of the locations, a large crater is visible in the grounds of Shalhavot Chabad School in Gedera.

Iranian MPs chant 'death to America'

After Tehran's attack on Israel, Iranian politicians stood in parliament and chanting "death to America". 

Punching their fists into the air, they also read out verses from the Quran. 

The US and Iran are long-time enemies, and have not had any diplomatic relations since the Iranian takeover of the American embassy in 1979. 

The US is also an ally of Israel, and it helped the country defend itself against Iran's attack last night, firing about a dozen interceptors at its barrage of ballistic missiles. 

'Extremely dangerous' moment for Middle East

It is an "extremely dangerous" moment for the Middle East, with Israel likely to respond, a former UK defence secretary has said. 

Grant Shapps told Sky News it was "difficult to imagine Israel not responding" to the attack by Iran, "a country that wants to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth". 

How Iran responds to Israel's retaliation is also "very worrying", he added.

"I can also say with confidence that if nothing changes, then we'll continue to have Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, the Iranian-backed militias, both in Syria and Iraq and Iran itself continuing to attack," he said. 

'Lebanon's humanitarian needs are massive - we need funding'

An aid worker has called for funding from the international community as the humanitarian crisis grows in Lebanon, with hundreds of thousands displaced.

Gabriel Karisson, British Red Cross manager for the Middle East, told Sky News: "The needs are massive compared to the capacity of all the humanitarian organisations currently in Lebanon." 

He added: "The displacement is a hardship by itself. There are not enough shelters and there are really no resources." 

All parties need to be reminded that protecting civilians is a priority, he said: "We are on the ground, we are responding... 

"There is no lack of will but the support and the funding needs to come in for us to respond." 

What role did UK play in Israel's defence?

The UK defence ministry confirmed last night that British forces had played a part in helping to defend Israel from Iran's attack, though gave no more specifics.  

Security and defence editor Deborah Haynes says it appears RAF jets were involved, though in a "support role" as they are not "armed with the weapons that could take out ballistic missiles".

The US military also came to Israel's defence on Joe Biden's orders, with warships equipped with anti-air systems that can take out ballistic missiles shooting down rockets.  

"A ballistic missile is an incredibly difficult weapon to intercept. You need specific air defences to be able to do that," she says.

"It's a rocket-powered weapon travelling at tremendous speed, and it requires the similar kind of velocity of weapon to intercept it in return." 

Haynes, who is based in Israel, said she saw many Iranian missiles intercepted last night. 

"You could see the air war in the sky as Iranian missiles streaked across the sky towards their targets, with many of them being intercepted right here above us."

Hezbollah says it fired missile salvo at northern Israel

Hezbollah claims it has targeted areas north of the Israeli city of Haifa with a large missile salvo.

There's been no word from Israel yet on the alleged attack.

Israeli media reported earlier that sirens warning of a possible rocket attack had sounded in several suburbs of Haifa, as well as in other towns along the Lebanon border.

Israel issues new evacuation order for southern Lebanon

Israel's military is warning people to evacuate another 24 villages in southern Lebanon after it sent additional troops across the border to join its ground incursion.

"Evacuate your homes immediately. Be careful, you are prohibited from heading south. Any movement south could put you in danger. We will let you know when it is safe to return home," the IDF's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X.

The Israeli military said its forces entered Lebanon overnight on Monday in what it called a "limited" ground incursion - though Hezbollah denied Israeli troops had entered the country.

Israeli officials urged residents in some 30 other villages in the area to evacuate yesterday.

Around two hours ago, Israel said regular infantry and armoured units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon (see 7.38 post).

Israel must respond to 'apocalyptic' attack, diplomat says

Iran's attack on Israel "looked apocalyptic" and there needs to be a response, an Israeli diplomat in London has told Sky News. 

"You had millions of Israelis that had to run to shelters," embassy spokeswoman Orly Goldschmidt said. 

"My whole family was there in the shelters. You only have a few minutes to run, because when the missile is launched, you only have 12 minutes until it can reach Israel." 

Iran is the "head of the axis of evil that is threatening Israel", she said, referring to Iranian proxies that operate throughout the Middle East. 

"We need to change this paradigm at the moment, and we need Israelis to be able to live in peace within our borders without being scared of being hit by ballistic missiles," Ms Godschmidt said.

"This is not a reality that we can accept. We will have to respond to that strongly." 

Oil prices jump as fears of wider Middle East conflict grow

As fears rise that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate further, our business reporter James Sillars reports on how the oil market reacted to Iran's ballistic missile attack on Israel:

A big, but not decisive, movement in the oil market leads us off this morning.

It had largely shrugged off the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict until yesterday afternoon due to evidence of poor demand from the global economic slowdown.

But news that Iran was about to pack a punch against Israel through missile strikes got the nerves trembling and Brent crude rose by more than 3%.

A barrel was a further 1.6% up in Asia dealing this morning. A risk of Israeli retaliation against Iran for going through with the missile attack was being priced in, according to market experts.

It was trading just below $75, having stood at $71 early the previous day.

Commentators added that the weak demand outlook remained a big choke hold on the price given that it remained well below levels around the $90 seen in April when Iran fired a series of rockets at Israel - a move described as a face-saving warning shot.

Yesterday's attack was far more serious.

The rising energy prices were reflected on the FTSE 100 at the market open.

Oil producers were among the gainers as the index rose 0.3% to stand at 8,302.

Dozens killed in strikes across Gaza, Palestinian officials say

Attention in the Middle East has shifted to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in recent weeks, and now Iran's latest attack on Israel.

But IDF strikes in Gaza are ongoing in Israel's war against the Hamas militant group, nearly a year on from the deadly raids in southern Israel.

Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people overnight, including dozens in a school sheltering displaced residents, according to medical workers.

Tanks carried out raids in areas of eastern and central Khan Younis in the south, killing at least 40 people, according to Hamas media and the Voice of Palestine radio.

Medics said 22 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City.

-SKY NEWS