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Editor's note: This story was updated to include comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Iran launched missiles toward Israel on June 24, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between the two countries had come into effect, the Israeli military said. Iran denied the accusation.
"A short while ago, sirens sounded in northern Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
"At this time, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat," the statement read.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the army to respond forcefully to Iran's ceasefire violation, Reuters reported. Katz said that Israel will continue to strike Iran after the "utter violation" of the ceasefire.
Shortly after Israel's statement, Iranian state media reported that Tehran denied firing missiles at Israel after the ceasefire began.
A senior security official in Iran told CNN that “no missiles have been fired at the enemy" after the ceasefire.
The reports come after days of escalating hostilities in the Middle East. Early on June 24, Trump declared in a Truth Social post that a ceasefire had begun, writing, "The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it!"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 24 Israel had agreed to Trump's ceasefire proposal, claiming that Israel had "achieved its goal of removing the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile threat," according to Reuters.
Trump said later on June 24 that Israel needs to "calm down" after what he described as violations of the ceasefire by both sides.
"I gotta get Israel to calm down now," Trump said as he left the White House. "Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before, the biggest load that we've seen."
He added: "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*ck they're doing."
Trump also wrote on Truth Social that "Israel is not going to attack Iran."
"Nobody is going to be hurt. The Ceasefire in in the effect," U.S. president wrote,
Previously, the U.S. launched airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan on June 21. In response, Iran fired missiles at U.S. military bases in the region, including at least 10 targeting Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and one aimed at a base in Iraq.
The Pentagon confirmed that Iran launched several short- and medium-range missiles at Al Udeid but reported no U.S. casualties. Trump dismissed the attacks as "limited and largely ineffective."
Iran is a key arms supplier to Russia, providing Shahed drones used in attacks on Ukrainian cities and pledging to send ballistic missiles. Israel, while home to a significant Russian-speaking population, has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow.
Anna Fratsyvir
