Sirens sounded in Haifa and across northern Israel on Tuesday morning, just over an hour after Jerusalem agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for a bilateral ceasefire with Iran and around three hours after the truce was supposed to take effect.
Two launches were detected and intercepted, according to reports.
“Following the sirens that were heard in the past few minutes: As of now, no reports of casualties have been received, except for a man who was injured on his way to a shelter. Further updates will be provided as necessary,” Magen David Adom reported.
There were no initial reports of damage.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that “Tehran will tremble,” while Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he had ordered “heavy strikes to be carried out” in the heart of the Iranian capital.
“In light of Iran’s blatant violation of the ceasefire declared by the President of the United States—by launching missiles toward Israel—and in accordance with the Israeli government’s policy to respond forcefully to any breach, I have instructed the IDF, in coordination with the Prime Minister, to continue intense operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran,” Katz stated.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said during a situational assessment that the military would “respond with force.”
However, Trump subsequently announced that Jerusalem would not be conducting a major retaliatory attack and that the ceasefire he brokered remained in effect.
“All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the ceasefire is in effect!” wrote the president on the Truth Social platform.
Earlier, Trump had warned in a post: “Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now! Donald J. Trump, president of the United States.”
According to Hebrew media reports, IAF fighter jets attacked one target, reportedly a radar installation in northern Iran, before ordering the return of its planes to the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was said to have spoken with Trump by phone before what Israel’s Channel 12 News outlet described as a “symbolic response” to the Iranian missile fire.
The Israeli government announced earlier on Tuesday morning that it had agreed to hold fire after achieving all its objectives in “Operation Rising Lion.”
The development followed Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire, which went into effect at 7 a.m. Israel time. The Iranian regime had launched missile barrages leading up to the truce, killing four people in a direct hit on an apartment building in Beersheva.