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CNN was prepared, immediately after the attack

Recap: Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on October 1. An Israeli response had been expected since

As reports emerge on multiple explosions in Iran, here’s a recap of the October 1 attacks from Iran on Israel.

Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel on October 1 in what it said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others — potentially taking the region closer to a wider conflict.

Remember: Hezbollah is an Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

On October 1, CNN teams on the ground in multiple locations in Israel observed dozens of missiles piercing through the skies as sirens blasted across the country.

One Palestinian was killed in Jericho as a result of the attacks, Nadav Shoshani, the international spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, told CNN at the time.

Israel’s response was heavily anticipated: Israel had vowed to respond to the attack — sparking worries among its allies that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate further.

Speaking hours after the assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it. The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”

The US had engaged in diplomacy with Israel, urging it to stay away from attacking Iran’s oil or nuclear sites.

Some background: Israel and Iran, two regional powerhouses, have long been enemy states engaged in a decades-long shadow war.

Over the years, Israel has carried out covert operations against the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, it has also fought an indirect war against several militant and Islamist groups across the region — including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen — many of whom are believed to be funded and armed by Iran.

Together, these groups are known as the “Axis of Resistance” — but Iran’s control over them varies.

These groups have also ramped up attacks against Israel since the war in Gaza began, vowing to keep up the fight as long as Israel’s devastating war in Gaza continues. Those battles, which span the Middle East including Iraq and Syria, grow in complexity the longer they go on.

 

Syrian air defenses confront "hostile targets" in skies around Damascus, state media reports

Syrian air defenses have confronted “hostile targets” around Damascus, according to Syria’s state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on Saturday local time.

Earlier, SANA reported that explosions heard in the skies around the Syrian capital were being investigated.