Israeli Defence Ministry announces preventive strike on Iran

Israeli Defence Ministry said it launched a preventive attack against Iran on Saturday, as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an extremely serious threat. Israeli defence official said the operation had been planned for months in coordination with US, and that the launch date was decided weeks ago.

  The Israeli military announced the closure of schools and workplaces, with exceptions for essential sectors, and a ban on public airspace. They had also declared a special and immediate state of emergency throughout the country.