Israel’s military has escalated its operations against Iran, attacking the Quds Force headquarters in Tehran as part of a broader conflict that has seen significant casualties on both sides. Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian army were targets by Israeli strikes. The bombing raids have caused at least 224 civilian deaths in Iran, according to the Iranian health ministry spokesperson. Most importantly, the vast majority of those killed have been civilians, with experts estimating that between 70 to 90 percent of the casualties are non-combatants.
As tensions rise, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to Fox News that the recent airstrikes successfully eliminated key figures within Iran’s military hierarchy. It has killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, as well as his deputy. Netanyahu used the occasion to reiterate how important these operations are. He announced, “I’m happy to tell you that we got their chief intelligence officer and his deputy in Tehran.”
That hostility deepened still further on Sunday morning after Iranian-supplied missiles struck inside Israel, killing at least 5 people. Our partners at ICYMI report that these attacks have killed at least 14 Israelis. Moreover, three people are still missing and hundreds more have been injured. Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service, later confirmed that incoming rocket strikes directly impacted four sites across central Israel. Tragically, these attacks led to three deaths.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) met this continuing threat with massive force and retribution. They issued alerts to residents to prepare them for the threat of additional rocket barrages. Civilians need to limit movement in open spaces and avoid large groups. When someone gets an alert, people are encouraged to take cover as soon as possible. The IDF stated, “Air Force fighter jets struck Quds Force headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian army, guided by precise intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate. At these headquarters, Quds operatives were working day and night to plan terrorist operations against Israel. They used the Iranian regime’s proxies across the Middle East.
The state of affairs is delicate as Iranian authorities dispute the Israeli narrative surrounding the missile attacks. Iran’s foreign ministry even stooped to calling the Israeli strikes “surgical.” What they did decry was these actions for creating civilian casualties, particularly women and children in domestic settings.
Along with the human cost, the destruction of physical infrastructure has created an economic crisis. U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, confirmed only superficial damage from an Iranian missile strike on a U.S. embassy annex in Tel Aviv. Thankfully, he assured us no American personnel were injured.
As both nations engage in this high-stakes confrontation, former U.S. President Donald Trump remarked on the potential for a diplomatic resolution. He stated, “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” indicating a desire for dialogue amidst escalating violence.