TEHRAN — Tensions in the Middle East surged to a new level early Sunday as Iran launched a large-scale missile attack on multiple locations across Israel, in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear facilities just hours earlier.

According to Israel Hayom, Iran fired at least 40 missiles targeting cities including Haifa and Tel Aviv in a coordinated barrage that marked one of the most intense escalations since hostilities began on June 13.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said missiles landed in at least 10 locations across the country’s central and coastal regions.

Israeli Channel 14 confirmed five direct hits — three in Haifa and two in central Israel — while Channel 12 reported “an unusual event” with multiple explosions in Haifa.

Air raid sirens were activated across northern and central Israel, including areas that had not previously experienced incoming fire.

Local media, including Yedioth Ahronoth, reported heavy structural damage in Haifa, with further destruction across the Shephelah region and the Dan Bloc, which includes Tel Aviv and its suburbs.

A building in Greater Tel Aviv was struck directly, and numerous structures along the coast were damaged.

Emergency service Magen David Adom said its teams responded to multiple impact sites. Initially reporting 11 injuries, the figure later rose to 16 according to Channel 13, with Yedioth Ahronoth confirming at least 23 casualties, most of them minor. One person remains in moderate condition.

A spokesperson for Iran’s military operation, codenamed Al-Waad Al-Sadiq 3 (True Promise 3), said the attacks targeted Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli command centers, and biological research facilities.

In response, the Israeli Air Force launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian positions in western Iran. Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Israeli forces targeted missile launchers and personnel involved in preparing further attacks. Additional launch platforms were hit shortly afterward.

The escalation follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s confirmation earlier Sunday that American forces carried out airstrikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites — Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan — using B-2 stealth bombers and the powerful GBU-57 "bunker buster" bombs.

Trump described the operation as “very successful” and said all aircraft safely exited Iranian airspace. The Pentagon had reportedly repositioned B-2 bombers to the Persian Gulf in preparation for the strikes, following Israel’s earlier assassinations of high-ranking Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists.

Iran has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to condemn the U.S. strikes and hold Washington accountable for what it termed a violation of international law.

Since June 13, Iranian missile strikes have killed at least 25 people and injured hundreds in Israel, according to Israeli officials.

In Iran, the Health Ministry reports 430 people killed and more than 3,500 wounded from Israeli attacks on military and civilian infrastructure.

The ongoing escalation raises fears of a wider regional war, as diplomatic channels falter and military operations intensify on multiple fronts. — Agencies