Tensions in the Middle East region are soaring day by day. Meanwhile, the United States expressed concerns over an unauthorised release of classified documents that assess Israel's potential retaliatory attack on Iran.
Washington officials on Saturday confirmed that the administration is probing the said release of documents that assess Israel's plans to attack Iran.
Middle East Tensions | Latest Updates
Emergency In Tel Aviv Amid Hezbollah's Attack
The Israeli military has declared a state of emergency in Tel Aviv and all air traffic at Ben Gurion Airport has been halted, Al Jazeera reported citing local reports.
Hezbollah reportedly said it bombed the Glilot base of the Military Intelligence Unit 8200 in the Tel Aviv suburbs with a "qualitative missile salvo".
The move came against the backdrop of Hezbollah striking the Nirit area in Tel Aviv suburbs with missiles. The Lebanese militant group said that the attacks were in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza and in defence of the people in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces said sirens were sounded in central and northern Israel. The army confirmed that five rockets targeted central Israel in the barrage, while 15 targeted the north.
The Israeli forces noted that some rockets were intercepted, and some impacted open areas, adding that no casualties were reported.
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Israeli Strikes Hit Southern Beirut
Over a dozen Israeli airstrikes struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday night and early on Tuesday after the IDF accused Hezbollah of storing millions of dollars in a bunker under one of Lebanon's largest hospitals, The Times of Israel reported.
The strikes came after the Israeli forces asked the residents of southern Beirut suburbs to evacuate the area, warning them about being "located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah".
The Israeli military had said that it would continue attacking Hezbollah targets, focusing on their financial assets. IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari had said in a video briefing that the militant group has "millions of dollars in gold and cash -- in Hassan Nasrallah's bunker", which is located directly under the Al-Sahel Hospital in central Beirut.
However, Israel said that it would not directly launch a strike on the hospital itself, as its war is with Hezbollah and not the Lebanese people.
US Concerned Over Leak Of Classified Documents
US President Joe Biden is "deeply concerned" by the unauthorised release of classified documents that assess Israel's potential plan of retaliatory attack on Iran, a White House spokesman said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Monday said that the administration was still not certain if the classified information that became public was leaked or hacked.
He said that the officials do not see any indication at this point of "additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain", adding that the Pentagon is probing the matter.
"We're deeply concerned and the president remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen and it's unacceptable when it does," Kirby said.
The documents -- attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency -- note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran's barrage of ballistic missiles on October 1. The documents were sharable within the "Five Eyes", an intelligence alliance of the US, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Classified as top secret, the documents first surfaced online on Friday on Telegram and then quickly spread among the channels on the messaging platform -- which is popular with Iranians.
While investigations into the matter are underway, the US has also encouraged Israel to take advantage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's elimination, asking it to press for a ceasefire in Gaza. It has also warned Israel against expanding military ops in northern Lebanon, citing the risk of a wider regional war.
Gaza Is 'Land Of Israel'
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed a conference on Monday, saying that Gaza is the "land of Israel".
Smotrich said, "This is our land of Israel. We have been waiting for many years. We will quote Rabbi Charlap, who explained to us the main point: when we look where the Gentiles (non-Jews) are, we fight them."
Meanwhile, Gvir said that Israel is giving Palestinians the option to go to other countries, the Middle East Eye reported.
