President Joe Biden ordered the US military on Tuesday to “aid Israel’s defense” and shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, the White House said.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in next month’s US presidential election, are both monitoring Iran’s attack on Israel from the White House situation room, it said.

“President Biden directed the US military to aid Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel,” the White House said in a statement.

A call that Biden had scheduled with rabbis on Tuesday ahead of the Jewish high holiday season — which begins later this week with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year — had been postponed to another day, a White House official said.

The United States and other western allies also stepped in to help defend Israel against a combined Iranian missile and drone attack in April, which Tehran launched in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

How it happened

Israel came under missile attack from Iran on Tuesday, the Israeli military and Iranian state media confirmed, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict following Israeli raids on Iran-backed militants in Lebanon.

The Israeli military issued a statement confirming that “missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel.” Air raid sirens blared across the country, and explosions were heard in Jerusalem, according to AFP journalists.

Iran’s state-run IRNA reported that the missile attack targeted Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub, in retaliation for the deaths of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Nasrallah was killed during Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, while Haniyeh’s death occurred in a Tehran bombing, which has been widely blamed on Israel.

Israeli airspace was immediately closed, and all flights were diverted, according to a spokesperson from the country’s airport authority. Neighboring Iraq and Jordan also closed their airspaces as the missile threats intensified.

As the missiles approached Israel, explosions were reported over the Jordanian capital, Amman, as Israeli and allied forces moved to intercept the incoming missiles.

This escalation follows earlier military operations by Israel, which launched targeted ground raids in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had previously discussed the Iranian threat with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, while the U.S. deployed additional troops to the region.

World leaders, including Russia and China, have urged for de-escalation and a ceasefire, though tensions continue to rise with ongoing airstrikes in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria. The United Nations and other international organizations have expressed concern about the humanitarian toll of the conflict, with thousands displaced and hundreds of lives lost in the ongoing violence.