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Iran has fired hundreds of various ballistic missiles towards Israel.
Iran described it as the beginning of its “crushing response” to Israeli attacks on the country on Friday.
The development comes after The Eastern Updates reported that Israeli military carried out dozens of airstrikes on Iran.
Many media outlets report that smoke could be seen rising from Tel Aviv, and explosions were heard in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem following the retaliation from Iran.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces, IDF, have confirmed that Iran launched major ballistic missiles against Israel.
IDF said defence systems were actively intercepting the threat.
Authorities in Israel have issued an urgent directive to all civilians to enter a protected space immediately and remain there until further notice.
Israel began a military operation against Iran late Thursday night, with explosions reported in the capital city, Tehran.Iran’s state-run news agency confirmed the blasts, Israel’s defence minister described the attacks as “preemptive strikes.”
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the airstrikes were aimed at key parts of Iran’s nuclear and military program.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, Iran’s nuclear weaponization program, Iran’s main enrichment facilities, leading nuclear scientists, and ballistic missile programs,” Netanyahu said.
Explosions were reported in Iran’s capital Tehran at about 03:30 local time (01:00 BST) on Friday.
Iranian state TV said residential areas in Tehran were hit, with blasts also heard north-east of the capital.
In Israel, residents were woken by air raid sirens around the same time and received emergency phone alerts.
Israel’s military said it had struck “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran”.
Hours after the initial strikes, an explosion was reported at the Natanz nuclear facility, which is located about 225km (140 miles) south of the capital, according to Iranian state media.
