Blasts heard over Jerusalem & Iranian missiles seen flying: Israel asks its citizens to take shelter

The Israeli military on Monday instructed civilians in the country to immediately enter protected spaces and remain there until further notice. Sirens blared across northern Israel for over 30 minutes, after missiles were fired from Iran, as the two foes traded fire for the 11th day.

A missile was seen flying high over Jerusalem and blasts were also heard, according to a Reuters witness.

"A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," an army statement said. AFP journalists in Jerusalem and the centre of the country received alerts on their phones warning of incoming missiles.


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After the extended alert period in several areas of the country, the Israeli military later said civilians could leave shelters.

Iran's retaliation

Tehran has vowed retaliation for US strikes that President Donald Trump said caused "monumental damage" to the Islamic republic's nuclear sites.

Iran's armed forces have threatened to inflict "serious, unpredictable consequences" on the United States in retaliation for its strikes on nuclear sites.

US warplanes unleashed bunker-buster bombs on Isfahan, Natanz and the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in support of the bombardment campaign ally Israel began on June 13.

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"This hostile act... will widen the scope of legitimate targets of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and pave the way for the extension of war in the region," said armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari on state television.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces "in the region or elsewhere" could be attacked.

The US State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans on Sunday.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany and called on Iran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region".

At a UN Security Council emergency meeting Sunday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against "descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation".