Just hours after publicly agreeing to a ceasefire, Israel initiated new attacks on Iran, accusing the latter of breaching the peace agreement.
The renewed hostilities threaten to prolong the conflict that Trump had dubbed the “12 Day War.”
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared he had ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to “respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire with intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran.”
The IDF reported sirens sounded in northern Israel “due to missile fire from Iran” around 3:30 a.m. ET. Earlier, Iran had launched several waves of strikes at Israel shortly before acknowledging the beginning of a ceasefire, but an Israeli official informed the Associated Press that two missiles were detected and intercepted hours after the truce began.
“In light of the severe violation of the ceasefire carried out by the Iranian regime, we will respond with force,” stated Israel’s Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir.
Iran’s General Staff of Armed Forces denied Israel’s claims of firing new missiles at Israel after the ceasefire commenced, according to Iranian state media.
Hardline Israeli politicians appeared to celebrate the renewal of hostilities. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, posted on X: “Tehran trembles.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared a pair of emojis: 💥🤌🏻.
Israel had consented to the ceasefire, citing that it had already “achieved all of the objectives” of its military operation, which has killed hundreds of Iranians, including. However, the earlier statement emphasized that “Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire.”
Trump, who had praised the truce on Monday night and issued a warning to “please do not violate it,” has not yet publicly addressed how the U.S. will react to the ceasefire’s failure.
