Iran attack on Israel ‘ineffective’ but a ‘significant escalation’: White House

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to repel the strikes. 

Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards targets in Israel on Tuesday, Sullivan said at a Tuesday White House briefing, noting the move was a “significant escalation.”

The strikes were in response to the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, Iran says. The move comes after weeks of Israeli strikes against Tehran’s proxies in the region.

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Sullivan said no deaths were reported on the Israeli side, although the White House is monitoring the reported death of a Palestinian civilian in Jericho in the West Bank.

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said. 

“We do not know of any damage to aircraft or strategic military assets in Israel. In short, based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. The word fog of war was invented for a situation like this. This is a fluid situation.”

Many missiles were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense systems, while others did hit the ground. 

The Pentagon says the U.S. fired approximately 12 interceptors against Iranian missiles.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.  (Fox News)

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“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” Sullivan said. 

He said the U.S. will consult with the Israelis on next steps in terms of response and how to deal with the Iranian attack.

The White House is particularly focused on protecting U.S. service members in the region and implored American citizens in Lebanon to follow the State Department’s guidance of finding civilian commercial means to leave the country, Sullivan said.

Rockets fly in the sky, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 1, 2024.  (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

Sullivan also expressed his condolences to the victims who were killed in a shooting in the Israeli city of Jaffa, located near Tel Aviv on Tuesday. At least eight people were killed and at least seven injured, local officials have told Fox News.

The incident, which is believed to be a terror attack, took place Tuesday outside a newly built light rail station on Jerusalem Street. Authorities say at least two individuals who opened fire on a crowd of people have been neutralized. 

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had warned citizens to shelter in place and follow instructions from the Home Front Command as the Jewish State’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system worked to intercept the incoming rockets on Tuesday. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this latest barrage of missiles is in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in an Israeli airstrike late last week and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, according to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.

A gunshot victim is transported away from the scene of the shooting Tuesday. Emergency responders have reported multiple deaths as well as more victims in critical condition. (Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL)

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned in a statement released by Iranian state media that if Israel responds to the missile barrage, “it will face crushing attacks.”

A senior White House official told Fox News earlier Tuesday morning that Iran was preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.

While White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not directly answer when asked if the United States had a heads-up from Iran about the strike ahead of time, Fox News was told by the Pentagon that they were “not aware of any pre-warning by Iran.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Liz Friden, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Trey Yingst and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.