Israel says Tehran residents to ‘pay price’ after Tel Aviv, Haifa attacks

TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Iranian missiles struck Israel’s Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn on Monday, killing at least eight people and destroying homes, prompting Israel’s defence minister to warn that Tehran residents would “pay the price and soon”.

The dangers of further escalation loomed over a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders in Canada, with US President Donald Trump expressing hope on Sunday that a deal could be done but no sign of the fighting abating on a fourth day of war.

The latest fatalities in Israel, reported by Israel’s national emergency services, raised its death toll to 23 since Friday. Israeli attacks in Iran have killed at least 224 people since Friday, Iran’s health ministry has said.

At least 100 more were wounded in Israel in the overnight blitz, part of a wave of attacks by Tehran in retaliation for Israel’s strikes targeting the nuclear and ballistic missile programmes of sworn enemy Iran.

Search and rescue operations were underway in Haifa where around 30 people were wounded, emergency authorities said, as dozens of first responders rushed to the strike zones. Fires were seen burning at a power plant near the port, media reported.

Video footage showed several missiles over Tel Aviv and explosions could be heard there and over Jerusalem. Several residential buildings in a densely populated neighbourhood of Tel Aviv were destroyed in a strike that blew out the windows of hotels and other nearby homes just a few hundred meters from the US Embassy branch in the city. The US ambassador said the building sustained minor damage, but there were no injuries to personnel.

The predawn missiles also struck near Shuk HaCarmel, a popular market in Tel Aviv that typically draws large crowds of residents and tourists buying fresh fruit and vegetables, and to popular bars and restaurants. A residential street in nearby Petah Tikva and a school in ultra-Orthodox Jewish city Bnei Brak were also hit.

‘NEW METHOD’

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the latest attack employed a new method that caused Israel’s multi-layered defence systems to target each other and allowed Tehran to successfully hit many targets, without providing further details.

The Israeli Defence Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. There were no reports in Israel of interceptor missiles hitting each other. Israeli officials have repeatedly said its defence systems are not 100% and have warned of tough days ahead.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement: “The arrogant dictator of Tehran has become a cowardly murderer who targets the civilian home front in Israel to deter the IDF from continuing the attack that is collapsing his capabilities.”

“The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.”

The death toll in Iran was already at least 224, with 90% of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.

All the fatalities in Israel have been civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s military said on Monday morning it had struck again at command centres belonging to the Revolutionary Guard and Iran’s military.

LEADERS MEET

Group of Seven leaders began gathering in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday with the Israel-Iran conflict expected to be a top priority.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his goals for the summit include for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel’s right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.

“This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit,” Merz told reporters.

Before leaving for the summit on Sunday, Trump was asked what he was doing to de-escalate the situation. “I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal,” he told reporters. “Sometimes they have to fight it out.”