After Devastating Iran with Preemptive Strikes, Israel Now Cites Damage From Missile Barrage

India.com

4 days ago

Iran-Israel Conflict: As a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran settled into place on Tuesday, Israeli authorities released casualty figures from a sustained barrage of Iranian missile and drone strikes that followed Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency service, reported 28 deaths over the course of 12 days. The country's Health Ministry confirmed that more than 3,200 individuals had been hospitalised, most with light to moderate injuries.
Iran reportedly launched close to 550 ballistic missiles and over 1,000 drones toward Israeli territory. While Israel claims majority of the projectiles were intercepted by their air defense systems, at least 31 missiles landed in populated areas, causing property damage and casualties. One Iranian drone directly struck a residential building.
Authorities said more than 9,000 people across Israel were displaced from their homes due to destruction caused by the attacks. The full extent of damage is still being assessed.
The barrage from Tehran came days after Tel Aviv launched an unprecedented preemptive strike on Iranian soil. On June 13, Israeli warplanes reportedly struck facilities connected to Iran's nuclear programme, an operation Israeli officials described as a direct response to intelligence claiming that Tehran had reached a 'point of no return' in its nuclear ambitions.
According to those officials, Iran had allegedly acquired sufficient fissile material to produce up to 15 nuclear weapons and had completed the development of a covert program to assemble operational nuclear devices.
The Israeli strikes, which hit deep inside Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, marked one of the most aggressive acts in recent memory. The operation expanded what defense officials in Tel Aviv have called a multi-front security threat, citing Iran's parallel efforts in missile development, drone proliferation and support to proxy groups around Israel's borders.
The Israeli government has since claimed that its objectives were met. However, the escalation triggered a large-scale response from Iran, which allegedly continued to fire missiles and drones at Israel even as negotiations were underway for a ceasefire.
Despite the agreement to halt hostilities taking effect early Tuesday, Israeli authorities reported that missile launches from Iran continued for several hours beyond the official ceasefire deadline.
The situation has left both nations reeling from economic and human tolls, even as global powers call for de-escalation and diplomatic engagement to prevent the conflict from reigniting.