Israel vows harsh retaliation after Iran violates ceasefire with missile strike

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to launch powerful strikes against Iranian regime targets in central Tehran, in response to Iran’s violation of the newly declared ceasefire between the two countries.

“I have instructed the IDF to respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire with intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran,” Katz stated, following reports that two ballistic missiles had been launched from Iran toward northern Israel — both of which were intercepted by Israeli defence systems.

The incident triggered widespread outrage among Israeli political leaders, with several members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet calling for swift and decisive retaliation.

“Tehran will tremble,” declared far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on social media.

Limor Son Har-Melech, an MP from the Otzma Yehudit party, hinted at an overwhelming Israeli response: “Quiet will be answered with quiet, missiles will be answered with...?”

Opposition figure and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said: “Three and a half hours after the US president announced a ceasefire, there is shooting from Iran toward northern Israel. We must not absorb it, we must not ignore it—we have to respond immediately.”

Likud lawmaker Tali Gotliv warned that “any violation of [the ceasefire] will be met with an appropriate response,” while fellow party member Avichai Boaron called for Israel to strike “with full force” at Iranian regime symbols.

The ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, officially came into effect at 04:00 GMT on June 24, after days of escalating exchanges between Iran and Israel. However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had fired 11 ballistic missiles in five salvos during the final hours before the truce was implemented.

One of the deadliest attacks occurred in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, where a missile struck a residential building. According to the Israeli emergency medical service Magen David Adom (MDA), four people were killed, and two others sustained moderate injuries. An additional 20 people were reported to have suffered minor wounds.

“The building is in a very populated area, and there is a lot of destruction. A large part of the building collapsed, and there are people trapped,” said Beersheba’s deputy mayor, speaking to Israeli Army Radio.

Explosions were also reported in Tel Aviv and central Israel. Meanwhile, Press TV said Iranian missiles targeted Haifa and the Ramat David Air Base in northern Israel.

The Israeli airspace, which had been temporarily shut down due to the incoming missile threat, has since reopened, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.

Iran said its missile strikes were in retaliation for overnight Israeli attacks on Iranian territory, including air raids on key military sites in Tehran. Among those reportedly killed was Mohammad Reza Siddiqi, a nuclear scientist, according to Iran’s state television.

Press TV also reported that another Iranian nuclear expert, Seyyed Mostafa Sadati Armaki, along with his entire family, was killed in an Israeli strike on Kashan, a city in central Iran.

According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, at least nine people were killed and 33 others injured in Gilan province, western Iran, following Israeli strikes. The attacks reportedly destroyed four residential buildings and caused widespread damage to numerous homes.

By Tamilla Hasanova