Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a limited, retaliatory missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar.
The acceptance of the deal by both sides came after Iran launched a final onslaught of missiles targeting Israel that killed at least four people early Tuesday morning, while Israel launched a blitz of airstrikes targeting sites across the Islamic Republic before dawn.
However, Israel’s military said it had detected another Iranian barrage hours after the start of the ceasefire, showing how dangerous the situation remained. Sirens sounded in northern Israel and explosions could be heard as Israeli air defenses fired.
Iran’s military has denied that it fired missiles at Israel hours after the ceasefire began, Iranian state television reported.
The report cited the general staff of Iran’s armed forces, which includes its regular military and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Israel reported missile fire some two and a half hours after the ceasefire began. Israeli officials have ordered a strike on Iran in response, though there’s no immediate report of an attack there.
Trump says both Israel and Iran violated ceasefire terms with attacks following an early Tuesday deadline to cease hostilities.
Trump made the comments to reporters at the White House before departing for the NATO summit at The Hague. He expressed disappointment about the continued attacks.
“They violated it but Israel violated it too,” Trump said. He added, ”I’m not happy with Israel.”
A military plane evacuating 101 French nationals from Israel to Cyprus took off from Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday, French authorities said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said similar evacuation flights will follow.
Priority is given to those with medical and humanitarian issues, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Those who can travel on their own can still cross to Jordan and Egypt to take commercial flights, it said.
A deputy governor in Iran’s northern Gilan province along the Caspian Sea said an Israeli strike before the ceasefire killed nine civilians, state media reported.
Iran says it transferred all inmates out of its notorious Evin prison after an Israeli strike targeted the facility on Monday.
Iran’s Prisons Organization said all the inmates had been moved to other prisons around the capital, Tehran. It said the move was necessary for workers to repair damage there.
Evin prison is known for holding both political prisoners and those with Western ties for negotiations with the wider world. It also has a specialized unit overseen by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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