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Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday. Baz Ratner/AP hide caption
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Baz Ratner/AP
Israel and Iran traded more deadly strikes early Monday as the conflict between the two countries entered its fourth day, raising concerns that the region was headed toward a wider Middle East conflict.
Israel's Defense Forces, or IDF, said it "precisely struck" command centers belonging to Iran's Quds Force – an elite military and intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – overnight.
If confirmed, the strike would mark the latest blow in a string of hits to Iran's military power since Israel launched its surprise attack last week targeting the country's nuclear capabilities. Israel considers Iran's nuclear program to be a direct threat to its national security.
Iran's ministry of health says more than 200 people have been killed since the start of Israel's offensive, including many women and children, and more than 1,000 people have been injured.
In Israel, Iranian missile and drone strikes hit Tel Aviv and Haifa early Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring nearly 100 others, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.
In Petah Tikvah, near Tel Aviv, four people were killed after an Iranian missile hit a residential building. The dead included two men and two women, all in their 70s. Israel's emergency services, Magen David Adom, shared images of babies being rescued from the rubble.
One missile hit the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv, causing minor damage to its facade, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in a post on X, adding the consulate would remain closed on Monday. No U.S. personnel were reported injured in the strike.
Despite continued international calls for de-escalation, neither side showed signs it was prepared to enter talks.
"The issue is not de-escalation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News host Brett Baier in an interview late Sunday.
"The issue here is not ceasefire, the issue here is stopping those things that will threaten our survival and we are committed to stopping it and I think we can achieve it."
On Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned more rounds of strikes against Israel would be "more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones."
In a post on his Truth Social site Sunday, President Trump renewed calls for Iran and Israel to make a deal, but later told reporters "sometimes, they just have to fight it out."
