Israel unleashed a series of airstrikes before dawn against military sites in Iran on Saturday, saying it targeted facilities used to produce rockets fired into Israel and surface-to-air missile sites.

The attack risks pushing enemies closer to all-out war in a moment of spiral of violence in the Middle Eastwhere Iranian-backed militant groups—including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — I already am at war with Israel.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health says the total toll over the past year is more than 2,600 dead and 12,200 injured. The fighting in Lebanon has drove 1.2 million people from their homesincluding more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children’s agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership since fighting intensified in September.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between militants and civilians. The Israel-Hamas war started after Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023, punched holes in Israel’s security fence and entered, killing an estimated 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and kidnapping another 250.

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Here are the latest:

Britain’s prime minister urges restraint

APIA, Samoa — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Iran should not respond to Israeli airstrikes and urged all sides to show restraint.

His comments at the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa came after Israel attacked Iran with a series of airstrikes before dawn on Saturday in what it said was a response to the Islamic Republic’s barrage of ballistic missiles on Israel at the beginning of this month.

Starmer said Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

“This is a real situation and we’re obviously monitoring it closely with our partners,” Starmer said. “We must avoid further regional escalation and urge all parties to exercise restraint. Iran should not respond. We will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation in the region.”

Iran promises response to Israel’s attacks

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Israeli attacks on military bases and said Iran will respond.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry described the attacks as a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter, particularly the prohibition of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations.

The ministry emphasized Iran’s inherent right to self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the UN Charter, saying it has an obligation to respond to foreign aggression.

Israel’s opposition leader says the military should have hit Iran harder

Jerusalem – Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid praised the military’s work but said Israel should have struck harder.

“The decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong. We could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran,” Lapid wrote in a post on X.

He said the air force’s actions showed its operational capabilities and that Israel’s enemies know its military is strong and can strike anywhere.

The Iranian military says two soldiers have died in Israeli shelling

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s military says two soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes.

The army’s statement was carried by the Arabic-language channel of state television, Al-Alam. The report did not elaborate.

Iran says Israeli strikes hit military bases in 3 provinces, causing ‘limited damage’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli strikes on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage.”

The statement by the Iranian armed forces was read aloud on state television, which did not show any images of the damage described. Iran’s military claimed its air defenses limited the damage caused by the strikes, without providing further evidence.

Israel said it had launched attacks against rocket production plants and other locations in the country.

Israel says it has ended its attacks on Iran, including on missile factories

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel announced early Saturday that it had ended its attacks against Iran. The Israeli military issued a statement saying its planes “returned home safely”.

Its planes “hit missile production facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran has fired at the State of Israel over the past year,” the military said. “These rockets posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.”

It added that it also “struck additional Iranian surface-to-air missile networks and aerial capabilities that were intended to restrict Israel’s freedom of air operation in Iran.” He did not provide any damage assessment.

Iran has acknowledged only “limited damage” to military installations.

There were early Saturday airstrikes on Iran retaliation for a ballistic missile October 1 assault, Israeli officials said. The attack, threatened for weeks by Israel, comes as the Middle East teeters on the brink of a regional war more than a year after an initial attack by the militant group Hamas on Israel. Since then, Israel has launched a devastating ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and an invasion of neighboring Lebanon, targeting long-armed militants aided by Tehran.