Israel and Iran have initiated new attacks, resulting in civilian casualties and escalating fears of a wider regional conflict, with both military forces advising the opposing civilian populations to take measures against further assaults.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed hope that a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders taking place in Canada would lead to an agreement aimed at resolving the conflict and preventing further escalation.
The Israeli military commenced the attacks on Friday with the declared intention of dismantling Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, warning Iranian civilians living near weapons facilities to evacuate.
A fire blazes in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran
“Iran will face severe consequences for the killing of civilians, including women and children,” stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a balcony overlooking damaged apartments where six individuals lost their lives in Bat Yam, a town located south of Tel Aviv.
Read more: Israel-Iran conflict: What we know Iran’s nuclear programme – key sites and locations
“Avoid remaining in or traveling near these critical areas,” an Iranian armed forces spokesperson urged in a video broadcast by state TV around the same time Iran launched a new missile barrage toward Israel.
Rising death toll
In Israel, rescue teams searched through the rubble of residential buildings demolished by Iranian missiles, employing sniffer dogs and heavy machinery to find survivors after at least 10 individuals, including children, were killed, raising the two-day death toll to 13.
Explosions shook Tel Aviv in the afternoon as Iran executed its first daylight missile strike since Israel’s operation began on Friday.
There were no immediate reports of direct hits in this initial onslaught.
Shortly after nightfall, Iran initiated a second wave of missiles targeting Haifa, a diverse Jewish-Arab city in northern Israel.
An Israeli military official confirmed that an elderly care facility was struck.
The national emergency service reported nine injuries from this attack, with two additional injuries resulting from a missile impact in southern Israel.
Iran launched a second wave of missiles, which struck Haifa in Israel
In Iran, images from the capital displayed the night sky illuminated by a massive blaze at a fuel depot following Israeli strikes against Iran’s oil and gas sectors—heightening concerns for the global economy and the stability of the Iranian state.
While Iran has not provided a complete death toll, it reported that 78 individuals were killed on Friday, with many more deaths occurring since, including in a single attack that claimed 60 lives, half of whom were children, in a 14-story apartment building destroyed in Tehran.
Trump vetoes plan to target Khamenei, officials say
In Washington, two US officials informed Reuters that President Donald Trump had rejected an Israeli plan in recent days to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even discussing targeting the political leadership,” stated one senior US administration official.
When queried about the Reuters report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News: “There are so many false reports of conversations that never took place, and I won’t comment on that.”
“We act as necessary,” he asserted.
Regime change in Iran might result from Israel’s military actions, Netanyahu remarked in the interview, adding that Israel would take whatever measures are necessary to eliminate what he referred to as the “existential threat” posed by Tehran.
Israel’s military spokesperson indicated that the current objective is not regime change, but rather the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, and removing its potential “to annihilate us.”
On Friday morning, Israel executed a surprise attack that eliminated top-tier members of Iran’s military command and caused damage to its nuclear facilities, asserting that the campaign will intensify in the coming days.
The intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were confirmed dead following Israeli operations in Tehran, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
