LAST UPDATE | 1 Oct
TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that he strongly condemns the missile attack on Israel by Iran.
“Our sympathy is with the Israeli people in the face of this aggression, and with all in the region impacted by ongoing violence,” he said in a statement.
He said that the Department of Foreign Affairs was in contact with the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as with its Representative Office in Ramallah.
Martin urged all leaders to “think of the immediate and long term consequences of their actions”.
“We need to see immediate ceasefires in Gaza and in Lebanon, the release of hostages and a return to diplomatic and political pathways to bring this cycle of violence to an end,” he said.
Earlier this evening, Iran launched “around 180″ missiles into Israel, according to the Israeli military, primarily targetting the capital, Tel Aviv.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hailed the missile attack as a “decisive response” to what he called Israeli “aggression”.
“In accordance with legitimate rights and with the aim of (establishing) peace and security in Iran and the region, a decisive response has been made to the Zionist regime’s aggression,” Pezeshkian posted on X.
“If the Zionist regime reacts to Iranian operations, it will face crushing attacks,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by the Fars news agency.
The IRGC said the attack was “in accordance with the United Nations Charter”.
Iran is a close ally and backer of Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose leader was killed in an airstrike last Friday.
This morning, Israel launched what it said was a “limited ground operation” in Southern Lebanon, targetting Hezbollah positions.
This was accompanied by fresh striikes against the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Elsewhere, Hezbbollah announed that they had targeted an Israeli military position inside Israel, while in the Red Sea, Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for three separate attacks against shipping in what it called the continued “naval blockade” of Israel in support of Palestine and Lebanon.
At least six people were killed in a suspected attack in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv today, police said, adding the two assailants had been “neutralised”.
Police described the attack as a shooting and stabbing attack that occurred shortly before Iran fired its barrage ofmissiles at targets around the city.
“Six civilians were killed in a stabbing and shooting terror attack and nine civilians were injured with varying degrees of injury according to medical sources,” police said in a statement.
The attack began when two gunmen attacked passengers on the city’s light rail network and then fled on foot before being “neutralised” by police and citizens present using personal firearms, the statement said.
Footage posted online showed people lying on the street in Tel Aviv following the attack.
Hamas praised Iran’s missile attack and said it was in revenge for the killings of their leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) blesses the heroic rocket launches carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran against wide areas of our occupied lands,” a statement said, adding it was “in revenge for the blood of our heroic martyrs”.
Israel vowed to retaliate, with its army spokesman saying it would respond at the time and place of its choosing.
“This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide,” said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
At the same time, the US, UK, Spain and others condemned the barrage.
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan called the missile attack “a significant escalation”.
The United States also said that Iran must suffer “consequences” , adding that it will coordinate a response with Israeli officials.
“Of course, there must be consequences for Iran for this attack,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
“I’m not going to get into what those consequences are today, but there are things on which we will be coordinating with our Israeli counterparts,” Miller said.
With reporting from David Mac Redmond and AFP
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