Missile fragments hit Israeli air base amid Iran escalation: IDF

Jerusalem, June 11 (IANS) The Ramat David Air Base in northern Israel was hit by missile fragments during the latest escalation with Iran, the Israeli military has confirmed.

The hit caused minor damage to the base but did not disrupt flight operations, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official told Israel’s state-owned Army Radio on Wednesday (local time).

Previously, Israeli media reports, citing satellite imagery, have said that the key Israeli military base appeared to have been hit, according to Xinhua news agency.

Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Sunday, which killed at least two people and injured about 20 others, triggered a series of mutual attacks between Iran and Israel from Sunday night into Monday, marking the most serious escalation since a ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel in April.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced late Sunday that it launched ballistic missiles at the Ramat David Air Base in response to Israel’s “widespread crimes” in Lebanon, which the IDF did not comment on back then.

Later on Monday, Iran and Israel signalled a halt to their attacks against each other. Still, Israel has warned that it would strike Beirut in response to any attack on northern Israel and continue attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, whereas Iran has cautioned that any further Israeli attack on Iran or Lebanon would trigger a much more “severe and crushing” response from Tehran.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military launched new strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, attacking the city of Tyre and other areas.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it had struck six Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Tyre area over the past day, including a site used to launch drones at Israeli troops in Lebanon.

The military said it also struck rocket launchers in other parts of southern Lebanon.

Thousands of civilians fled Tyre on Tuesday following Israeli warnings.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, Israeli strikes on a residential neighbourhood in Tyre killed at least eight people and injured 35 others, including six women and three children.

The Israeli military also said it killed Khader Jamasi, whom it described as the head of Hamas’ funds transfer network, along with his deputy, Muhammad Harazin, in the Gaza Strip.

–IANS

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