Israel’s military operation in Iran will continue until its objectives are met, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Wednesday.
During a meeting with more than 30 foreign ambassadors at the scene of an Iranian rocket impact in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Sa’ar said that the Iranian regime was “making a mistake.”
“The Iranian regime deliberately targets population centers and murders civilians,” he said. “They do not understand that the Israeli people are strong and massively support ‘Operation Rising Lion’,” he added.
The operation, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said is aimed at ending the threat to Israel posed by Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles, will continue until those objectives are met, said Sa’ar.
“We are determined to continue until we reach our objectives. There are no negotiations,” he added.
Eight people were killed on Sunday when an Iranian ballistic missile fell in a residential area of Bat Yam. A ninth person is still missing.
It was the deadliest single hit since “Operation Rising Lion” began on June 13. So far, 24 Israelis have been killed and some 1,500 wounded by Iran’s ballistic missile assault, according to Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS.)
Nearly 4,000 Israelis have had to leave their homes as a result of Iranian attacks. From June 13 to noon on June 18, Iran had launched 19 barrages of over 400 projectiles at the Jewish state. Between 80% and 90% of the projectiles were intercepted, but more than 40 penetrated Israel’s air defences.
The largest share of the projectiles, or 45%, were aimed at the center of the country. Another 38% targeted northern Israel and the rest its south, according to the INSS.
In Iran, Israeli strikes have reportedly killed some 600 people, including more than 25 high-ranking military officers and 14 nuclear scientists, INSS wrote. Israeli aircraft and other forces have engaged more than 1,100 targets, including five sites connected with the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Israel has reportedly destroyed about 120 rocket launchers, or a third of the Iranian arsenal. The Israeli offensive is widely regarded as effective and successful, having focused initially on personnel, nuclear sites and air defense systems. Israel on Sunday announced it had achieved total air superiority over Iran, meaning unrestricted movement in Iranian airspace.