Israeli media, citing regime officials, report “unprecedented destruction” in Tel Aviv following Iran’s successful retaliatory military operation – True Promise III on Friday.
Dozens of illegal settlers were injured after a barrage of Iranian missiles pounded the largest and most densely populated urban area in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Officials were quoted as saying that they had “never seen anything” like that before.
Channel 13 released a report on Friday detailing the extensive damage inflicted on the Greater Tel Aviv area – also known as the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area – which includes Tel Aviv, the nearby city of Jaffa, and several surrounding municipalities.
According to Israeli Army Radio, the Iranian missile strikes resulted in a significant number of casualties among the settlers, even though the regime has imposed a ban on reporting casualties.
The Israel Hayom daily, in a report, said firefighters were actively responding to incidents of fire at multiple locations across the occupied territories.
“Teams are working to rescue two trapped individuals and extinguish fires,” it reported.
An incident was also reported in the Dan Tel Aviv area, a well-known, luxury hotel located on the Tel Aviv seafront promenade.
There, firefighters were “operating in a multi-story building where the strike caused significant destruction,” the paper said, adding, “Search operations are underway to locate those trapped.”
The Israeli channel, meanwhile, cited witnesses as saying that the scale of the destruction was “unlike anything” they had come across before.
Other Israeli media outlets reported that the regime’s so-called “Home Front Command” advised those who had taken shelter during the reprisal to “stay nearby” if they needed to leave their shelters, seemingly warning of possible further Iranian retaliation or escalation.
Amid the unfolding situation, the Home Front Command strictly prohibited photography in the targeted areas, citing concerns over potential embarrassment.
“Photographing the areas where missiles land helps the enemy,” the command warned settlers, in what observers termed an attempt by Tel Aviv to obscure the true scale of its human and material losses.
Meanwhile, as per Israeli media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly holding a “situation assessment” meeting in an “underground compound.”
The developments came after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had struck “dozens” of Israeli targets, including military centers and airbases, as part of the reprisal.
The operation began immediately after the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, delivered a televised message, saying that the “despicable” Israeli regime would be “rendered helpless” following reprisal by the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces.
In a statement on Friday night, less than 24 hours after the Israeli aggression, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed the launch of the retaliatory operation, dubbing it “True Promise III.”
The aggression had featured a string of assaults, including targeted killing strikes, that led to the martyrdom of Major General Hossein Salami, the IRGC’s former chief commander.
Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Corps’ Aerospace Division, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, and Major General Gholam-Ali Rashid, commander of the Islamic Republic’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, were among other victims.
The aggression also claimed veteran nuclear scientists Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi, Fereydoun Abbasi, and Dr. Abdol-Hamid Minoucher, as well as some other Iranian citizens, including children.
