Many people on Social Media from the US are criticizing the attacks because they argue it’s their tax dollars that are subsidizing both sides | Credits: X @nicksortor
Iran and Israel continued trading missiles and air strikes on Saturday, with both sides reporting deaths. Iran reported that an Israeli attack on a housing complex left 60 people dead, including 20 children. Tel Aviv said Iranian missiles killed three people and injured dozens.
Reuters reported that sirens sent residents into shelters as a barrage of Iranian missiles streaked across its skies, while interceptors were launched to meet them. The British news agency said an Israeli official reported Iran had fired about 200 ballistic missiles in four rounds.
The news outlet also said there are increasing fears that “outside powers” will be dragged into the conflict, which all news outlets and governments have stopped short of calling a war, in an attempt to prevent it from escalating into an all-out regional conflict.
Calling on an Iranian uprising
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Iranian citizens to rise against their Islamic clerical rulers, while Iran called on its people to unite in defence of the country, Al Jazeera said.
Official Israeli reports revealed that Iranian fire continued to strike residential districts in Israel, prompting Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, to say Iran’s leadership had crossed a red line. “If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” he added.
Iran’s missile barrages came in response to intense Israeli strikes on Friday that killed several top Iranian generals and most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards’ air arm.
Among those killed in the Israeli aggression are the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, and the chief of staff of the armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri. Prominent Iranian nuclear scientists are also among the dead, Al Jazeera said in a separate report.
Despite nuclear negotiations
The Israeli strikes took place despite negotiations between Iran and Israel’s principal ally, the United States, over the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme, which Israel has long said represents an existential threat to its nation.
“If we don’t attack, then it’s 100 per cent that we will die,” Netanyahu said in a video speech he posted X. “So even if it’s not perfect, we have to do it, because we have to change the direction of Iran’s military build-up, both its ballistic weapons and nuclear weapons.”
The prime minister assured his intelligence officers had identified that Tehran had embarked on a nuclear programme, including the monthly production of 300 ballistic missiles.
Israeli attacks will continue as long as needed
“We will not allow Iran to advance toward a nuclear [bomb]. We will not allow the development of missiles intended to harm us,” Netanyahu said, when announcing that the current “operation would continue for as many days as necessary to remove this threat.”
Tehran also warned Israel’s allies that their regional military bases would come under fire too if they continued to help shoot down Iranian missiles, Iranian state television reported. The US has assisted Israel in intercepting Iranian missiles.
Iran’s ally, the Yemeni Houthi group, fired missiles at Israel on Friday night. However, at least one of them went rogue, injuring five Palestinians, including three children, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
