© AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
"A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced in a video message. "Upon hearing a siren, you must enter a shelter and remain there until further notice."
The IDF sent out the same message on its Telegram channel, on X, and via the Israeli media.
The military also said it "is doing and will do everything necessary to protect the civilians" in Israel.
Earlier in the day, anonymous US officials told American media that Washington had warned West Jerusalem of an impending launch by Tehran. The US was expecting an attack similar to a strike in April in which some 300 missiles and drones were used.
The US embassy in West Jerusalem instructed all its staff and their families to "shelter in place" due to potential rocket and drone strikes, but did not specifically mention Iran.
The reported strike comes after Israeli ground troops invaded southern Lebanon early on Tuesday, in an operation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia.
Israel IDF enters Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the beginning of "limited, localized, and targeted ground raids" against the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday. The move comes after two weeks of bombing by the Jewish state that killed over one thousand people and displaced one million more.
During the bombing campaign, the IDF killed several senior Hezbollah members, including the group's long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah. A rumored Israeli operation to simultaneously explode communications devices belonging to members of the militant group also reportedly killed children as well as its intended targets.
The goal of the IDF 'incursion' is to ensure the safety of citizens living in the northern part of Israel, West Jerusalem has claimed. Hezbollah has been launching barrages of rockets into Israel in what it had said was an act of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
The IDF occupied parts of southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000 in what became known as the First Lebanon War in Israel.
Israel invaded Lebanon again in 2006, which resulted in a 34-day conflict with Hezbollah.
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