Netanyahu vows ‘very heavy price’ for Israeli deaths; Iran warns of ‘decisive retaliation’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed that Iran would face severe consequences for attacks that killed Israeli civilians as hostilities between the two adversaries entered a third day of escalating missile strikes.

“Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the site of a missile strike on a residential building in the coastal city of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.

The fighting intensified with Israel targeting Iran’s Defense Ministry in Tehran and facilities it claimed were tied to Iran’s nuclear programme. In retaliation, Iranian missiles breached Israeli air defences, striking deep into Israeli territory.

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At least 10 Israelis were killed in the latest Iranian strikes, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service, raising Israel’s death toll to 13. Israel’s main international airport and its airspace remained closed for a third consecutive day.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, warned of a “more decisive and severe” response if Israeli military operations against Iran continued, according to state-run IRNA.

The conflict has claimed dozens of lives on both sides. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations reported Saturday that 78 Iranians had been killed and over 320 injured, though no new figures were released on Sunday. The violence shows no sign of abating after Israeli airstrikes killed several senior Iranian generals and prominent nuclear scientists.

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Iran: Mosques, metro stations, schools to serve as shelters

Iran announced that mosques, metro stations and schools would serve as shelters from Sunday evening, as Israel’s attacks entered a third day.

“Mosques are among the shelters available to the public, and the metro stations will be prepared tonight to open for use,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told state TV, adding that schools were also “safe places” for refuge.

Israel keeps up Iran strikes after deadly missile barrage

Israel pressed its bombardment campaign on Iran on Sunday, striking a defence facility and fuel depots as the two arch foes kept up their most intense confrontation in history.

It came after Iranian missile fire targeting Israel killed at least 10 people overnight, according to authorities, pushing the death toll up to 13 since Iran began its retaliatory strikes Friday.

In Tehran, a heavy cloud of smoke hung above the city after Israeli aircraft hit two fuel depots. For days, Iranians have formed long queues at petrol stations, fearing shortages.

Iranian media later said Israel attacked a facility affiliated with the defence ministry in the central city of Isfahan, reporting “possible damage”.

The Israeli military said its air force had targeted “more than 80” positions in Iran’s capital overnight.

US threatens to unleash “full strength and might” of military if Iran attacks American interests

Following the Israeli strikes, US President Donald Trump said Washington “had nothing to do” with ally Israel’s intense bombardment campaign that was launched early Friday, hitting key military and nuclear sites as well as residential areas.

But Trump also threatened to launch “the full strength and might” of the US military if Iran attacks American interests, saying on his Truth Social platform that “we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!”

Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, nonetheless said that Tehran had “solid proof” that US forces had supported Israel in its attacks.

Israeli police said six people were killed and at least 180 injured at the site of an overnight missile strike in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

First responders wearing helmets and headlamps picked through the bombed-out building as dawn broke, with police saying at least seven people were missing.

“There was an explosion and I thought the whole house had collapsed,” said Bat Yam resident Shahar Ben Zion.

“It was a miracle we survived.”

In northern Israel, rescuers and medics said a strike late Saturday destroyed a three-storey building in the town of Tamra, killing four women.

Israeli authorities have reported a total toll of 13 dead and 380 injured in the country since Friday.

Iran’s UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and 320 wounded in Friday’s first wave of Israeli strikes.

Iranian authorities have not provided an updated toll as of Sunday, but Tehran said Israel has killed several top military commanders and nuclear scientists.

With inputs from agencies