At least two people were killed in Iranian missile attacks on the Israeli city of Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, as Iran launched a counterattack after the killing of two senior Iranian figures by Israeli strikes.
According to Israeli emergency authorities, the rockets hit central Israel, killing two people and injuring at least one other by shrapnel. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said its missiles managed to penetrate Israel's defense systems.
The counterattack came a day after Israel carried out airstrikes near Tehran that killed Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij militia, a force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard.
Larijani was considered an influential figure in Iran's ruling circle and a close associate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated at the start of the war.
Meanwhile, Israel has also intensified its attacks in Lebanon. On Wednesday morning, an Israeli airstrike hit the central Zkak al Blat neighborhood in Beirut, killing at least six people and wounding 24 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Later, the Israeli military announced the evacuation of a building in central Beirut that it said was being used by Hezbollah. Residents rushed to leave the area as a rocket hit the building, which collapsed in a huge cloud of smoke.
The war, now in its third week, is escalating tensions in the region and creating divisions even between the United States and its allies. US President Donald Trump again criticized NATO allies for rejecting his request to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil transport.
According to the latest figures, at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in Iran, 912 in Lebanon and at least 14 in Israel since the start of the war. The Pentagon has also confirmed the deaths of 13 US soldiers during the conflict.
