The war in the Middle East escalated again early Saturday as Israel bombed targets in Iran in a spiraling pattern of attacks and retaliation that has inflamed the region.

Israel announced that it would punish Islamic Republic prepares for missile bombardment early this month It targets Israeli military facilities and other areas. These attacks were Israel’s response Assassination of senior leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah militia And Other senior commanders in Lebanon.

This was a rare direct conflict between the two most heavily armed countries in the Middle East. Enemies have instead waged a decades-long “shadow war” through proxy militias such as the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas, or in the case of Israel, covert sabotage missions and assassinations.

“In response to months of sustained attacks by the regime in Iran against the State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces are currently carrying out precision strikes against military targets in Iran,” the Israeli military said in a statement. he said. “The State of Israel, like other sovereign countries in the world, has the right and duty to respond.”

In Tehran, residents reported explosions around the capital and the nearby city of Karaj. Possible targets are missile sites controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the western edge of Tehran. Smoke could be seen floating in this direction in the silhouette of the night.

Smoke was also seen from Tehran near the city of Shahriyar, where underground missile storage facilities are known.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retreated to a bunker beneath the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, where he was joined by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior leaders. Netanyahu’s office released a photo of the group gathered around a table.

In the weeks before the attack, Biden administration officials repeatedly urged Israel to refrain from targeting Iran’s oil industry or nuclear energy facilities, lest world markets be damaged.

US officials said that Israel informed the White House before the attacks. In a statement Friday night, a National Security Council spokesman said Israel was conducting “a self-defense exercise in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1.”

Read more:As Israeli airstrikes destroy cities in Lebanon, some see echoes of Gaza

The attacks came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken left the region, where he completed several days of shuttle diplomacy in hopes of restarting ceasefire talks between Israel, Saudi Arabia and other countries. Israel-Hamas war In the Gaza Strip.

Regional countries were preparing for Israel’s reaction to Iran. Netanyahu warns Tehran will “pay a big price” For attacking Israel.

Until recently, the two countries had largely avoided direct conflict. However, in the region that flared up last year with the brutal clashes between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israel and Iran gradually came closer to real war. Tensions have further increased in recent months, with Israel and Hezbollah’s tit-for-tat attacks on the Israel-Lebanon border, and Israel’s bombing and land invasion of Lebanon.

Read more:As conflicts increase in Southern Lebanon, Israel and Iran make mutual threats

About a year ago, Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and capturing around 250 hostages. In response, Israel launched its relentless war in the Gaza Strip. The next day, Hezbollah, He announced that he would step up rocket and missile launch activities to the north of Israel in solidarity with Hamas.

The Israeli army has killed more than 42,000 people since then Palestinians in Gaza According to the Ministry of Health, it is in the south wing. Entire neighborhoods in Gaza were destroyed, as was much of Hamas, its leaders, and its infrastructure. Israel announced that it killed Hamas’ senior leader Yahya Sinwar on October 18.

By then, Israel had shifted its major military operations to its northern border with Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets and missiles from inside Lebanon at Israel over the past 12 months, driving nearly 70,000 Israelis from their cities and killing a small number of people. Israeli attacks on Lebanon also displaced tens of thousands of people until Israel expanded its bombings in late September.

Read more:Iran launches missiles at Israel during land invasion of Lebanon

On September 30, Israel launched its first land attack on Lebanon in 18 years and announced that it had attacked Hezbollah targets. But their bombardments spread across Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and even as far north as Tripoli, hitting the capital, Beirut, multiple times. More than 2,000 Lebanese have been killed and one million displaced, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Hezbollah is Iran’s most important proxy in the Middle East. Israel’s assassination on September 27 Hezbollah’s long-time leader Hassan Nasrallahtriggered Iranian retaliation four days later; nearly 200 ballistic missile bombardments that forced millions of Israelis into bomb shelters. Israel, supported by US and British air forces, managed to intercept most of the projectiles. Yet this was only Persia’s second campaign. Directly attacked Israel, first in April; Both times, damage to Israel was minimal.

Israel vowed to retaliate, and the region had been preparing for it ever since.

Efforts to broker a US-led Gaza ceasefire aimed at enabling the release of hostages held in Gaza, halting Israeli bombardment, and the distribution of desperately needed food and medicine have so far failed.

Times staff writer Wilkinson reported from Washington and special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran. Staff writer Laura King in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story first appeared on: Los Angeles Times.