Iran launches 200 missiles at Israel, at least six killed in suspected ...

Iran says it has launched some 200 missiles at Israel.

In a statement, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the attack was in response to the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and senior Revolutionary Guard commander Abbas Nilforooshan.

It warned Israel it would face further attacks if it responded.

Israeli airspace has been closed and flights have been diverted.

ABC News journalists in Jerusalem have reported loud explosions above the city.

Israeli authorities say the attack now appears to be over.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: "This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide."

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets above Ashkelon in Israel, after Iran's attack.   (Reutesr: Amir Cohen)

Separately, at least six people have been killed and nine injured in a suspected shooting and stabbing terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israeli police have said.

They said two attackers started a killing spree on the Tel Aviv light rail and continued on foot before being killed by civilians and inspectors using personal pistols.

The attack took place minutes before Iran began firing missiles at Israel. It is unclear if there is any connection.

TV footage showed gunmen getting off at a light rail station and opening fire.

Israel's MDA ambulance service said it received a report at 7:01pm (2:01am AEST) of people injured by gunfire.

Medics and paramedics provided on-site medical treatment to a number of people with varying degrees of injuries, including some who were unconscious, MDA said.

US monitoring the attack

The White House National Security Council (NSC) said US President Joe Biden directed the American military to shoot down missiles targeting Israel.

A NSC spokesperson said Mr Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris were monitoring the attack from the White House situation room.

The attack followed warnings from the US that a ballistic missile strike on Israel was imminent.

The warning came after further Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Rescuers were quick to reach the site of Israel's strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.   (Reuters: Louisa Gouliamaki)

A senior White House official said on Tuesday, local time, that the US had indications of an imminent missile launch from Iran. 

The official said a direct military attack on Israel by Iran would carry severe consequences for Iran.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had targeted areas in Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, local time, as part of a "precise strike". 

Two security sources said two attacks were carried out, with a high-rise building in the Jnah area hit.

In a later statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed a strike had killed Muhammad Jaafar Qasir, the commander in charge of weapons transfers from Iran and its affiliates to Hezbollah.

Smoke rises from Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike on Tuesday, local time.   (Reuters: Mohamed Azakir)

The militant group has not yet commented on the strikes.

Hezbollah also announced on Tuesday it had launched a fresh round of missiles toward the Sde Dov airbase on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli army said air raid sirens had sounded in several places across central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, as a result of Hezbollah rocket fire.

Towns across south Lebanon told to leave

The Israeli military has ordered thousands more people to leave their homes in southern Lebanon as it conducts what it has called a "limited" operation across the Lebanese border.

The Israeli military ordered more than 20 villages south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon to evacuate on Tuesday, foreshadowing further strikes on homes Israel said were being used by Hezbollah fighters.

A statement from Hezbollah said no Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, directly contradicting earlier comments by the IDF that a limited number of soldiers had crossed the border. 

The Hezbollah spokesperson warned that the group's strikes on Tel Aviv hours earlier were "only the beginning".

The Lebanese militant group said on Tuesday it had used new Fadi 4 missiles to attack the Tel Aviv headquarters of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and miliary bases.

Air raid sirens blasted across Israel and videos on social media showed smoke in the aftermath of the rocket barrage into Israel.

Israel's ambulance service said two people had been wounded by shrapnel from the missiles.

The Israeli military extended safety restrictions across much of the country later on Tuesday, limiting gatherings and telling people to remain near bomb shelters.

The UN's peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon — established in 1978 following the first Israeli invasion of the country — said it had been notified in advance of the Israeli operations. 

"Despite this dangerous development, peacekeepers remain in position," a statement from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said. 

"Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of resolution 1701. 

"We urge all actors to step back from such escalatory acts, which will only lead to more violence and more bloodshed."

UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned the "broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation" after Iran's aerial attack.

"This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire," Mr Guterres said in a statement on Tuesday.

The United Nations had earlier warned Israel against a "large-scale ground invasion" of Lebanon.

Nearly a million people are estimated to be displaced by Israeli air strikes across Lebanon. (AP: Hassan Ammar)

The violence had already forced up to a million people to flee their homes, according to Lebanese officials.

More than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 8, when Hezbollah began firing missiles into Israel the day after Hamas attacked the country.

Most of the deaths followed Israel intensifying its military campaign in mid-September.

"Not just Hezbollah, all of Lebanon will fight this time. All of Lebanon is determined to fight Israel for the massacres it committed in Gaza and Lebanon," said Abu Alaa, a resident of the southern port city of Sidon.

Turkey said it was ready to carry out evacuations of its nationals from Lebanon via air and sea.

In a statement, its foreign ministry said it was working with 20 countries on evacuation preparations that would see other foreign nationals evacuated via Turkey.

Israeli strikes on Syria kill six

A Syria war monitor said six people including three civilians were killed in Israeli strikes early Tuesday targeting Damascus and its vicinity, amid fears of broader Israeli raids on the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted two vehicles in Damascus's upscale Mazzeh district, as well as "air defence batteries at the [city's] airport, and the vicinity of the Kisweh area", south of the capital.

"Three civilians including a media worker" were killed, as well as three pro-Iran fighters, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

Syrian state media had earlier reported that three civilians were killed in Israeli air strikes and nine others wounded, citing a military source.

"The Israeli enemy launched an air aggression with warplanes and drones from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting several points in Damascus," the official news agency SANA said.

"Three civilians were killed and nine others injured," it added.

Since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters, including Hezbollah.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.

The strikes have increased in recent days, including on areas near the border with Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed into Syria over the past week, fleeing heavy Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.

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