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Biden Says He Opposes Israeli Strikes on Iran Nuclear Sites

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Biden Says He Opposes Israeli Strikes on Iran Nuclear Sites
US President Joe Biden speaks after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Helene in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Sept. 30, 2024. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
US President Joe Biden speaks after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Helene in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Sept. 30, 2024. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
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Israel Bans UN Chief From Entering Country
Bill Pan
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Israel Bans UN Chief From Entering Country
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 10, 2024. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 10, 2024. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Israel has declared U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, effectively banning him from entering the country.

Announcing the decision on Oct. 2, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Guterres failed to “unequivocally” condemn Iran for its unprecedented missile attack on Oct. 1, which targeted military and civilian sites across Israel and forced 10 million people into bomb shelters.

Guterres condemned the “broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation” without specifically mentioning Tehran, a stance that drew sharp criticism from Israel’s top diplomat.
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Israel Bans UN Chief From Entering Country
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Israel Bans UN Chief From Entering Country
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 10, 2024. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 10, 2024. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Israel has declared U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, effectively banning him from entering the country.

Announcing the decision on Oct. 2, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Guterres failed to “unequivocally” condemn Iran for its unprecedented missile attack on Oct. 1, which targeted military and civilian sites across Israel and forced 10 million people into bomb shelters.

Guterres condemned the “broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation” without specifically mentioning Tehran, a stance that drew sharp criticism from Israel’s top diplomat.
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What We Know About Iran’s Missile Attack on Israel
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What We Know About Iran’s Missile Attack on Israel
A man and a dog check the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack, in Hod HaSharon, Israel on Oct. 2, 2024. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
A man and a dog check the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack, in Hod HaSharon, Israel on Oct. 2, 2024. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

On Tuesday night, Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel, with at least some hitting the Jewish state’s territory, in the second such attack by the Islamic Republic this year.

Israel’s military has said that the attacks now appeared to have abated and there was no further threat from Iran for now. The full extent of the damage caused by the overnight barrage is still not known. The Israeli military has said it is not aware of any deaths due to the attacks.

Here is what is known so far.

Why Was The Attack Launched?

Recent days have seen Israel launch a wave of airstrikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and what it described as limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
How Israel Defended Itself Against Iran’s Missile Attacks
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By Chris Summers
How Israel Defended Itself Against Iran’s Missile Attacks
Israeli military forces fire rockets from the Iron Dome defense system to intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, near Sderot, on May 13, 2023. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli military forces fire rockets from the Iron Dome defense system to intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, near Sderot, on May 13, 2023. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Iran fired 181 long-range ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, with each missile capable of killing dozens in a single strike. But, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, after the millions of Israelis emerged from the air raid shelters where they had hunkered down, he was not aware of a single reported casualty.

How? The answer lies in Israel’s multi-layered missile defense system, built with the assistance of the United States.

Tim Ripley, a military analyst and editor of the Defence Eye website, said Israel’s different missile defense systems come under the umbrella of a single structure.

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