Israel-Gaza updates: 22, including 18 children, reported dead in Rafah strikes

The IDF says it struck military targets of terrorist organizations in Gaza.

ByABC NEWS
Video byJulian Kim and Dara Elasfar
Last Updated: April 16, 2024, 9:18 AM EDT

Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran early Friday morning local time, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

The strike followed Iran's attack on Saturday, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel, according to Israeli military officials. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.

Iran's weekend attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Apr 19, 2024, 5:22 AM EDT

What to know about Iran's attack on Israel

Israeli officials said the country's Iron Dome defense system endured a big test from Iran's attack on Saturday, intercepting 99% of the 300 "threats of various types" thrown at it.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari, launched 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more than 120 ballistic missiles and more than 30 cruise missiles in the attack.

Hagari said "99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted -- a very significant strategic achievement."

Hagari said the attack resulted in only one known Israeli casualty, a 7-year-old girl who was severely injured when she was struck by shrapnel apparently from an intercepted missile.

Apr 16, 2024, 9:18 AM EDT

Yellen to Iran: US 'will not hesitate' to issue new sanctions

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning Iran that the U.S. "will not hesitate" to impose new sanctions in response to Iran's "unprecedented attack" on Israel.

Israel's military displays what they say is an Iranian ballistic missile which they retrieved from the Dead Sea after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, at Julis military base, in southern Israel, Apr. 16, 2024.
Amir Cohen/Reuters

"Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity," Yellen is expected to say at a Tuesday press conference. "The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury's work to use our economic tools to counter Iran's malign activity."

Yellen's message follows President Joe Biden's Sunday meeting with the G7 nations, during which the leaders discussed a coordinated effort on sanction measures.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Apr 16, 2024, 6:31 AM EDT

Israeli war cabinet to consider response again Tuesday

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet is expected to meet again on Tuesday to consider an Israeli response to Iran's weekend attack.

"We are closely assessing the situation. We remain at our highest level of readiness," Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said on Monday. "Iran will face the consequences for its actions."

This handout picture released by the Israeli army shows Israeli army Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi speaking to military officers at Nevatim airbase in southern Israel on April 15, 2024.
Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Image

Halevi added Israel would "choose our response accordingly."

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor and Somayeh Malekian

Apr 16, 2024, 6:14 AM EDT

UN watchdog calls for de-escalation in Israel-Iran conflict

United Nations officials called on Tuesday for Israel and Iran to de-escalate their conflict, saying the retaliatory military attacks “violate the right to life and must cease immediately.”

“All countries are prohibited from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life in military operations abroad, including when countering terrorism,” the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a press release, quoting U.N. officials described as "experts."

This handout picture released by the Israeli army shows Israeli army Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi speaking to military officers at Nevatim airbase in southern Israel on April 15, 2024.
Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Image

The retaliatory strikes by both countries may constitute the “international crime of aggression by civilian and military leaders responsible,” those officials said, according to the statement.

-ABC News' Kevin Shalvey

Apr 15, 2024, 4:18 PM EDT

Iran will respond in 'seconds' if Israel strikes back: Iranian official

If Israel strikes back, the response speed from Iran "will be less than a few seconds," said Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy foreign minister of Iran for political affairs.

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