\n<\/p>\n
Everybody\u2019s phone buzzed at once with an alert at around 19:30 local time.<\/p>\n
It read: \u201cYou must enter a protected area immediately and remain there until further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message was sent by the Israel Defense Forces’s Home Front Command and ended with the phrase “life-saving instructions\u201d.<\/p>\n
People began to head for shelter in safe rooms as missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran.<\/p>\n
The sirens sounding across the country were heard by millions.<\/p>\n
As the wail of the alarm rang outside, we moved to the shelter in the BBC\u2019s Jerusalem Bureau – a secure part of the building with no windows.<\/p>\n
We could hear frequent booms as missiles flew overhead and were intercepted by Israel\u2019s defence system.<\/p>\n
Videos captured here and elsewhere shared on social media showed streams of light as the missiles flew over Israel – and clouds of smoke as they were intercepted or detonated on impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s loads of them,\u201d a contact exclaimed in a video filmed in southern Israel that shows circles of light in the night sky.<\/p>\n
At about 20:00, the IDF said its aerial defence array was identifying and intercepting the launches, and called on people to \u201cremain in a protected space until further notice\u201d.<\/p>\n
It continued: \u201cThe explosions you are hearing are from interceptions and fallen projectiles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concern had been mounting across Israel as reports emerged early in the evening that Iran was preparing a strike.<\/p>\n
It came hours after Israeli troops invaded Lebanon, in what its military calls a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said it launched the missiles in retaliation for recent attacks that killed the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as a senior Iranian commander.<\/p>\n
As missiles flew overhead, messages streamed in from people in different parts of the country, waiting in their safe rooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of alarms all the time so we\u2019re in the safe room\u2026 But we\u2019re OK for now,\u201d a mother of two in the south of Israel told me by voice note.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery, very scary. I still cannot believe this is our life\u2026 it was VERY close,\u201d a message from a journalist in Tel Aviv said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually we stay on our floor and don\u2019t go down to the shelter but this time\u2026we realised we had to go down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very loud,\u201d lawyer Efrat Eldan Schechter says by WhatsApp message from Ra\u2019anana in central Israel, adding that she believes \u201cit is not the end for tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to see how it will evolve. It is very scary indeed\u2026 but we are strong and confident that our IDF will protect us. Iran just made a huge mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
About an hour after the first message, phones again vibrated with a new alert from the Home Front Command, telling people they could leave shelters and protected areas.<\/p>\n
Following the strikes, the IDF spokesperson said there were some hits in central and southern Israel.<\/p>\n
Videos later shared on social media showed damage from the missiles in multiple locations, including a large crater in the ground near Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
The Palestinian civil defence authority in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho said a man there died during the Iranian missile barrage.<\/p>\n
According to the AFP news agency, which spoke to city governor Hussein Hamayel, the victim was killed by falling rocket debris.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials have not reported any serious injuries as a result of Tuesday’s air attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage we don\u2019t identify more launches from Iran. Stay responsible and listen to instructions,\u201d IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised address.<\/p>\n
Israel says at least 180 missiles were fired, most of them intercepted. It has said there will be \u201cconsequences\u201d.<\/p>\n
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