Israel-Iran war: Iran launches fresh wave of strikes targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa

Iran has launched a fresh wave of drone and missile attacks targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa, two major cities of Israel, Iranian state media reported. This comes as hostilities between the two nations continue for the fourth day.

“A new salvo of missiles against the occupied territories (Israel) is beginning,” state TV reported.

The Bazan Group, one of the largest energy groups in Israel, said that all oil refineries in the Haifa Bay have been shut down after a deadly Iranian strike. Three people were killed in the incident.

In a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Bazan said that “as a result of damage to the facilities, the power plant was significantly damaged, and therefore all of the refinery’s and subsidiary companies’ facilities were shut down.”

Meanwhile, the Iranian Red Crescent said that an Israeli air strike in northwest Tehran killed three rescuers.

The Israeli military on Monday (Jun 16) struck the headquarters of Iranian state television in northern Tehran during its live broadcast. They had earlier issued an evacuation warning for the area.

Iran has said at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,200 wounded due to Israeli strikes. The Israeli prime minister’s office reported that 24 people have been killed while 300 have been injured due to Iran’s missiles and drone attacks.

Following a strike, Israel said it hit command centres for Iran’s expeditionary branch of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, which coordinates support for proxy forces across the region.

Israel had also targeted Iran's energy production facilities and manufacturing plants on Sunday in what is described as the heaviest wave of attacks yet.

In a press conference shortly before, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was “changing the face of the Middle East” with its military operations against the Iranian regime.

“We are changing the face of the Middle East,” he said. The Israeli prime minister also outlined Israel’s strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets.

“We are eliminating them, one after the other,” he said, speaking of Iran’s military leadership.

Netanyahu said that Iranians’ perception of their government had changed, adding that they now saw it was “much weaker than they thought.”

“They understand that the regime is much weaker than they thought -- they realise it, and that could lead to results,” he said.