Israel Reports Casualties as Iran Retaliates

Air defense systems in Iran and Israel were trying to fend off strikes late Friday, but missiles were getting through. Both countries claimed to be inflicting significant damage on the other. Ballistic missiles fired as part of Iran's retaliation hit at least seven sites around Tel Aviv, the New York Times reports. Paramedics said 34 people were injured. Buildings in the city were struck, per the AP, and explosions shook Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, at least some of them caused by the interception of missiles. An American official said US ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to down them. Developments include:

• Israel's attacks on nuclear sites, generals, and scientists on Friday killed 78 people and wounded more that 320, Iran's ambassador told the UN Security Council, per the AP. He said "the overwhelming majority" of victims were civilians.
• In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority said it had 40 reports of injuries and property damage caused by falling shrapnel. Civil defense officials said seven children were among the injured.
• In the Tehran neighborhood where Iran's supreme leader lives, air defense barriers were firing continuously, per the Times. The president's compounds also are in the area.
• Leaders in the Middle East and Europe appealed for de-escalation, and UN Secretary General António Guterres urged "maximum restraint" from both sides, per the Washington Post.

(More Iran stories.)