Iran fires missiles at Israel in new escalation

"A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel," the military said in a statement. Sirens sounded across Israel, with AFP journalists reporting hearing explosions over Jerusalem.

Iran's official news agency IRNA said it had launched "a missile attack on Tel Aviv", Israel's commercial hub.

Its Revolutionary Guards Corps said the attack was in response to Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week as well as the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran bombing widely blamed on Israel.

Israeli airspace was closed with all flights diverted, a spokesman for the airport authority said.

Iraq and Jordan, while lying between Iran and Israel, closed their airspace too.

As the missiles made their way to Israel from the east, blasts were heard over the Jordanian capital Amman, as Israel's allies moved to intercept them, an AFP correspondent said.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had earlier discussed the Iran threat with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, a statement from his office said.

While Iran-backed groups across the region had already been drawn into the Gaza war, sparked by Palestinian group Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, Tehran had largely refrained from direct attacks on its regional foe.

Early Tuesday, the Israeli military said troops had started "targeted ground raids" in south Lebanon, across Israel's northern border, though officials have provided few details of the scale of the operation or its timeframe.

The Israeli ground offensive came despite growing calls for de-escalation after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds in Lebanon, including Hassan Nasrallah, the powerful leader of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Iran has said Nasrallah's killing would bring about Israel's "destruction", though the foreign ministry said Monday that Tehran would not deploy any troops to confront Israel.

The Pentagon said the United States was boosting its forces in the Middle East by a "few thousand" troops.

- 'Cease hostilities' -

In Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping mission said the Israeli offensive did not amount to a "ground incursion" and Hezbollah denied any troops had crossed the border.

A Lebanese army source told AFP the force had "not observed any penetration by Israeli enemy forces".

There was no way to immediately verify the claims, which came as Israel struck south Beirut, Damascus and Gaza, despite international calls for restraint to avoid a regional conflagration.

"We fear a large-scale ground invasion by Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering," said UN human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell.

Israel's defence minister warned the fight was far from over, even after a massive strike on Beirut killed Nasrallah on Friday.

Israel seeks to dismantle Hezbollah's military capabilities and restore security to the north, where tens of thousands have been displaced by nearly a year of cross-border fire.

The Israeli military said its forces, backed by air strikes and shelling, carried out "limited, localised, targeted operations" in Lebanon.

To "enable the continuation of operational activity" against Hezbollah, the military later announced it was calling up four additional brigades to the border.

The Iran-backed group, which suffered heavy losses in a spate of attacks last month, said it targeted an Israeli intelligence base near Tel Aviv and other military facilities on Tuesday, as air raid sirens sounded and blasts rang out in the coastal city.

World leaders called for de-escalation after Israel announced the launch of its ground operation.

China said it opposed "infringements on Lebanon's sovereignty", while Russia said it "calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately cease hostilities".

Austin gave Washington's backing to Israel "dismantling attack infrastructure along the border", though President Joe Biden had earlier said he opposed a ground invasion.

"We should have a ceasefire now," said Biden, whose government is Israel's top arms provider.

- 'Sacrifice' -

Lebanon's official National News Agency said an Israeli air strike on Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp killed six people, and Israeli shelling of border communities killed 10.

Elsewhere, Syria's state television said anchor Safaa Ahmad was killed "in the Israeli aggression" on Damascus, and official news agency SANA reported three civilians killed.

Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 1,000 people have been killed since September 17.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the UN humanitarian agency appealed for more than $400 million in aid for the displaced, estimating there could be as many as one million.

Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered Israel's devastating assault on Gaza.

In central Beirut, Youssef Amir, displaced from southern Lebanon, said: "I have lost my home and relatives in this war, but all of that is a sacrifice for Lebanon, for Hezbollah".

Beirut resident Elie Jabour, 27, told AFP that despite opposing Hezbollah "politically... I support them defending the border".

Some Israelis welcomed the news of a ground offensive in Lebanon.

Troops should "clean up the area and bring peace", said 60-year-old firefighter Yossi Cohen, a resident of the northern city of Haifa.

"If they don't do it this time... our children won't be able to live here."

- Gaza strikes -

In Gaza, the civil defence authority said Israeli bombing killed 12 people on Tuesday in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

Seven others were killed in Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people east of Gaza City.

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,638 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

Hamas appealed for "global solidarity with Gaza and Lebanon" in rallies planned for the war's first anniversary on Monday.