Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at targets across Israel, marking a dramatic escalation of a conflict that appeared to be spiraling out of control.

“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Benjamin Netanyahu said late Tuesday at a meeting of his security cabinet. “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to take revenge on our enemies.”

The unprecedented Iranian salvo of more than 180 ballistic missiles came less than 24 hours after Israel’s prime minister ordered the largest ground incursion into southern Lebanon in a generation.

Guardian reporters in Jerusalem witnessed dozens of rockets flying over Israel’s capitals in a massive attack just after 7:30 p.m., with the rockets’ engines clearly visible from below.

Air sirens sounded across Israel as the missiles, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, flew in red and gold streaks across the night sky. Other rockets, still intact, appeared to continue toward the coast and central Israel amid the sound of distant explosions.

Minutes before Iran launched the attack, at least two gunmen launched an attack in the Israeli coastal city of Jaffa, killing six people and wounding 10. This raised further concerns that the increasing cycle of violence could lead to terrorist attacks within Israel.

The Israeli military said it was not aware of any injuries from the rocket attacks, but the Palestinian Civil Protection Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said a man had been killed near Jericho and that falling rocket debris had caused damage and caused fires in the area.

Iran said it launched the missiles at three Israeli military bases in retaliation for a series of Israeli attacks in Lebanon against its ally Hezbollah, which have devastated the southern suburbs of Beirut, the capital, and villages in the south of the country.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut on Friday, dealing a major blow to the militant group.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the attack as “a decisive response to the Zionist regime’s aggression,” adding: “Let Netanyahu know that Iran is not a belligerent party, but that it stands firm against any threat… Go no conflict with Iran.”

The order to launch missiles at Israel was given by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior Iranian officials told Reuters.

Diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict quickly fizzled as tit-for-tat attacks threatened to set the Middle East on fire, less than a week after the US and France announced an attempt to reach a to reach a 21-day ceasefire between the two sides.

World leaders called for restraint, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemning “escalation after escalation” in the region.

“This has to stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” he said.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) described the Iranian attack as serious and vowed to retaliate. The US has also warned that Iran would face consequences for launching the attack, raising the specter of a direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

“We are on high alert both defensively and offensively,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement before the attacks. “This attack will have consequences. We have plans and we will operate at the place and time we determine.

US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean have downed several missiles launched by Iran, US defense officials said. Currently, these include the USS Arleigh Burke, USS Cole and USS Bulkely. There are more destroyers in the Red Sea.

On the outskirts of the Old City, many stopped to watch the rockets fly overhead in what appeared to have been an unprecedented attack, as explosions thumped at a staccato pitch in the distance. Millions of Israelis were told to take shelter as the country closed its airspace to civilian aircraft.

Orli Mircus, 56, a social worker and physiotherapist from Tel Aviv, said she witnessed the attacks and “felt fear… a lot of fear, especially with the explosions above our heads.”

“At that moment I wanted to know where our loved ones were,” she said. “I didn’t think, I was so scared.”

“I worry about what will happen, I worry about Israel’s response to the attack, which logically wants to defend itself and that will entail a new response, not only possibly from Iran,” she said.

Israeli media, citing the military, said the country’s air force would continue carrying out “powerful strikes” across the Middle East on Tuesday evening.

This week, Israel had already launched attacks in three countries: Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

The White House previously warned that it had “indications that Iran is preparing to launch an early ballistic missile attack” on Israel. The State Department later said there had been no warning from Tehran, although some reports suggested the Iranians had told the Russians what they were planning.

“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” a senior official said in a statement, warning that such a move “will have serious consequences for Iran.”

What those consequences might be remains unclear.

Oil prices rose 5% on news of the Iranian missile attacks, raising the prospect of a wider war between the two arch-enemies.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday when the rocket barrage began, condemned the Iranian attack.

Downing Street said he reiterated to Netanyahu Britain’s commitment to Israel’s security and the protection of civilians, but stressed the importance of pursuing a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.

On Monday, Israel began a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, which it calls Operation Northern Arrow, with a barrage of shells across the border.

The ground incursion marks the first time Israeli forces have launched sustained operations in Lebanon since 2006, when the two countries signed a peace deal that ended a 34-day war between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah, which dominates large parts of southern Lebanon .

In the first concrete demands since the army launched its incursion, Israeli officials on Monday ordered residents of about 30 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. An Israeli military spokesman told people to evacuate north of the Awali River, nearly 55 kilometers from the Blue Line between the two countries, as the IDF targeted what it called Hezbollah’s “attack infrastructure” along the UN mentioned border.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with UN officials on Tuesday and said it was “one of the most dangerous phases in (Lebanese) history.” He claimed that “approximately 1 million of our people have been displaced as a result of Israel’s devastating war against Lebanon.”

US officials have expressed cautious support for the operation, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agreeing with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “on the need to dismantle (Hezbollah’s) attack infrastructure along the border.”

The Israeli offensive followed a number of Israeli successes against Hezbollah that appear to have emboldened Netanyahu to act against the Iran-backed organization despite significant diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation of the war.

Nasrallah’s death followed two weeks of strikes that began with the explosion of Hezbollah members’ pagers and walkie-talkies, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands of others. Israel has since continued to bomb Beirut and has also launched attacks on Yemen and Syria, saying it launched attacks on Iranian-backed militias across the Middle East.

Additional reporting by Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem