(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
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Iranian strikes on Israel: what happened and why did Iran attack? [1]
['Oliver Holmes']
Date: 2024-10-02
Tehran deployed ballistic missiles, which use trajectories outside or near the limits of Earth’s atmosphere, in the attack. It used similar weapons against Israel earlier this year.
Why did Iran attack?
While details of the timings and nature of the attack were not known in advance, it was not a surprise.
World powers have for months predicted a “regional escalation” from Israel’s war on Gaza, in which it has killed 40,000 Palestinians. That followed an attack by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 Israelis. Israel is now fighting allegations of genocide at the world’s highest court.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have now expanded the war to Lebanon, which they are bombing heavily.
Lebanon is home to Iran’s key regional ally, Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into northern Israel in response to the bloodshed in Gaza.
Last week, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkie radios belonging to members of Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon, killing scores and wounding thousands of others, including civilians. On Friday, Israel assassinated the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah. In July, the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in the Iranian capital – an attack attributed to Israel.
Israeli attacks have devastated the southern suburbs of Beirut, the capital, as well as villages in the country’s south. At least 1 million people in Lebanon – a fifth of the population – are now displaced.
The US has warned of an escalation but at the same time supported Israel’s attacks both diplomatically – by arguing its case at international institutions such as the UN – and materially, by sending it the bombs and weapons it has used to kill thousands.
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[1] Url:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/02/iranian-strikes-on-israel-what-happened-why-did-iran-attack-missiles-damage-what-next
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