UPDATED: Israel-Iran war continues as death toll rises

At least 10 people were killed in Israel in overnight missile attacks by Iran, officials said, as both countries continue attacks on each other.

Israeli police said six people, including two children, were killed in the city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, BBC reports. Another seven people are missing in the city, and emergency services are searching through the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Four people were also killed in the town of Tamra, according to emergency services and the local hospital.

An Israeli university

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog condemned the “criminal Iranian attacks” in a post on X.

“A very sad and difficult morning,” he wrote, saying the attacks killed and wounded “Jews and Arabs, Israeli citizens and new immigrants, including children and the elderly, women and men.”

“I share in the heavy mourning of the families and grieve the terrible loss. I pray for the recovery of the injured and the finding of the missing. We will mourn together. We will overcome together.”

The latest retaliatory strikes by Iran were more severe than the ones the country carried out on Friday.

“There are sightings of drones as well in the north near Beisan, and there are at least four sites where the military sensor has not allowed the media to disclose information about direct impact incidents,” Al Jazeera reports.

“But what we do know is that dozens of buildings have been damaged in Bat Yam. The mayor is talking about people still stuck under the rubble.”

It is also believed that Iran targeted Israel’s oil refineries in response to Israeli attacks on Iranian oil and gas infrastructure.

“The attacks on Haifa in particular, where the refineries are, indicates that Iran is making good on its promise to reciprocate if Israel hits civilian infrastructure, sites related to energy, then Iran would try to do the same,” Al Jazeera reports.

Bazan, the Israeli firm that operates an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa, confirmed “localised” damage to pipelines and transmission lines, according to Israeli media.

The company said its refineries continue to operate, though some other facilities have been shut down, Al Jazeera reports.

An Israeli university, the Weizmann Institute of Science, also said a number of its facilities were damaged in Iranian strikes.

In Iran, officials confirmed that Israel had attacked not only its nuclear facilities but also its energy and oil and gas infrastructure.

Iran’s oil ministry said an Israeli attack targeted the Shahran oil depot in Tehran, igniting a fire there. The ministry said the situation there was under control.

Iran has also confirmed at least 80 deaths from Israel attacks, and 800 others wounded, including scientists, military chiefs, women and children.

Trump sues for peace

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the war started when Israel launched air attacks on Iran on Friday, two days before Iran and the US were to continue their talks for a possible nuclear deal.

Then, Iran retaliated by launching missiles into Israeli cities, including the capital, Tel Aviv. Israel’s military described the impact of retaliatory strikes by saying “all of Israel” was “under fire” as a result of the missiles fired at the country.

The Iranian authorities had earlier vowed that Israel would pay a “heavy price” for the “deadly airstrikes” against the country.

While casualties have continued to increase on both sides, both sides still promise that more airstrikes and missiles are on the way.

On Saturday, the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said Iranian missiles were targeted at residential areas and the civilian population and for this, Tehran had “crossed red lines”.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who had earlier acknowledged that the US was aware of Israel’s “preemptive strikes,” has tried to distance the country from the ongoing war.

In a post on Truth Social, he warned Iran against launching any attack against the US and threatened to unleash the full strength of its military if this occurs.

“The US had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight,” he said on Saturday. “If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” he said.

He also called for a deal between Iran and Israel to end the “bloody conflict!!!.”

US phone call with Russia

Yesterday, President Trump also held a 50-minute-long call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and the Ukraine peace talks.

According to President Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin briefed Mr Trump on his conversation with the leaders of Iran and Israel.

He disclosed that Russia proposed seeking mutually acceptable solutions to the Iranian nuclear issue and expressed the country’s readiness to undertake mediation efforts.

“The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the centre of the exchange of opinions,” he was quoted by CBS News as saying,

“Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,” he said, warning of “unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East.”

Iran cancels peace talks

Iran has also cancelled the next round of US-Iran peace talks, which was scheduled to be held in Oman today.

Iran described the continuation of nuclear talks with the US as unjustifiable, “barbarous”, and “meaningless,” while Israeli attacks target the nation.

“The other side [the US] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime [Israel] to target Iran’s territory,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

It was unlikely the talks would survive the sudden spike in violence, which began with Israel’s strikes and then Iran’s retaliation.

President Trump had earlier called the attack on Iran “excellent.”

The Israel-Iran war now threatens President Trump’s promise to restore global peace and end wars. This promise formed a major part of his campaign.

Reactions within Trump’s circle have been mixed, and the war has begun splitting his base.

Many right-wing politicians and commentators are now arguing that unwavering support for Israel clashes with the “America First” campaign that Mr Trump ran on.

China condemns Israel’s attack on Iran

Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry, in a strongly worded statement, condemned Israel for attacking Iran.

The country now joins the growing list of nations calling for restraint and warning that continued escalation could destabilise the entire region.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported the mixed reactions of several world leaders. Many of them criticised Israel’s attacks, while others just called for de-escalation of the violence.

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However, China said Israel’s actions seriously undermine the principles of the UN Charter and violate fundamental norms of international relations.

“In particular, its attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities sets a dangerous precedent and could lead to catastrophic consequences,” it stated.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, “Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.”

“China explicitly condemns Israel for violating Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. China firmly opposes the brutal attacks targeting Iranian officials that have caused civilian casualties, and supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, defending its legitimate rights and interests, and protecting the safety of its people,” the spokesperson wrote.