The US' ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Monday said an embassy building in Tel Aviv sustained minor damage from a nearby Iranian missile strike, reporting no injuries to US personnel.

Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles on Israeli cities early on Monday, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation.

AFP images showed gutted buildings in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv, after Israel's army warned people to take cover from incoming Iranian missiles.

"Some minor damage from concussions of Iranian missile hits near Embassy Branch in @TelAviv but no injuries to US personnel," Huckabee said on X.

He said the US embassy in Jerusalem would remain closed on Monday as orders to "shelter in place [are] still in effect".

After decades of enmity and proxy wars, Israel's assault on Iran last week has touched off the most intense fighting yet and triggered fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the entire Middle East.

Israel says its attacks have hit military and nuclear facilities and killed many top commanders and atomic scientists.

But a senior US official said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump told Israel to back down from a plan to kill supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump has urged the foes to "make a deal", but told reporters on Sunday that "sometimes they have to fight it out" first.

- AFP

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said five people were killed and 92 wounded on Monday in Iran's latest missile strikes on the country, raising a previous toll of four deaths.

The casualties were from strikes on four sites in central Israel, the MDA said in a statement, adding those killed included "two women and two men around the age of 70, as well as one additional fatality".

"So far, MDA teams have evacuated 92 injured individuals to hospitals, including a 30-year-old woman in serious condition with facial injuries, six in moderate condition, and 85 in mild condition," it added.

The MDA said search and rescue operations were ongoing at two of the four sites.

Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early Monday, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned on Monday that Tehran's residents would "pay the price" for Iranian strikes on Israeli civilians.

- AFP

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday warned that Tehran's residents would "pay the price" for Iranian strikes on Israeli civilians, after overnight missile attacks killed several.

"The boastful dictator from Tehran has turned into a cowardly murderer, deliberately firing at Israel's civilian home front in an attempt to deter the [Israeli military] from continuing the offensive that is crippling his capabilities," Katz wrote on his Telegram channel. "The residents of Tehran will pay the price - and soon."

- AFP

Iran's judiciary said it hanged on Monday a man arrested in 2023 and convicted of being an agent for Israel's Mossad spy agency, as fighting raged between the two arch-nemeses.

"Esmaeil Fekri, a Mossad agent convicted of the capital offences of 'corruption on earth' and 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) was hung after going through the full process of criminal procedure," the judciary's Mizan Online news website said.

- AFP

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said on Monday that the toll from Iran's latest missile strikes had risen to four dead and 87 injured, updating a previous figure of three deaths.

Four people were pronounced dead following strikes at four sites in central Israel, the MDA said in a statement, including "two women and two men, all approximately 70 years old. So far, MDA teams have evacuated 87 casualties to hospitals", it added.

- AFP

Iran said it "successfully" struck Israel with a salvo of missiles on Monday, as Israeli rescuers reported three deaths and damage to residential buildings in multiple cities.

"A new wave of air-to-air missile attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ... enabled missiles to successfully and effectively hit" targets in Israel, the Guards said in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

The country vowed to carry out more "devastating" operations against Israeli targets as Tehran struck its arch-foe with a barrage of missiles.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency, warned that "effective, targeted and more devastating operations against the vital targets" in Israel "will continue until its complete destruction".

- AFP

Three people were killed and 74 left wounded in the latest round of missile strikes launched by Iran, according to Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA).

The missiles struck several sites in central and coastal Israel, including residential buildings.

MDA said it responded to four scenes and that dozens of people were taken to hospitals in the central region.

The additional deaths take the total number of people killed in Israel to 17 since the two countries started trading barrages of missiles on Friday.

At least 224 were killed and 1277 hospitalized in Iran since hostilities began, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday, as cited by Iran’s official media.

Oil prices extended gains on Monday as Israel and Iran pounded each other with missiles for a fourth day and threatened further attacks, stoking fears of a lengthy conflict that could reignite inflation.

Gold prices also rose back towards a record high thanks to a rush into safe havens, but while most equity markets dropped further into the red the losses were limited on hopes that the conflict does not spread through the  Middle East.

Investors were also gearing up for key central bank meetings this week, with a particular eye on the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan, as well as talks with Washington aimed at avoiding US President Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs.

Israel's surprise strike against Iranian military and nuclear sites on Friday - killing top commanders and scientists - sent crude prices soaring as much as 13% at one point on fears about supplies from the region.

Analysts also warned the spike could send inflation surging globally again, dealing a blow to long-running efforts by governments and central banks to get it under control and fanning concerns about the impact on already fragile economies.

"The knock-on impact of higher energy prices is that they will slow growth and cause headline inflation to rise," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

"While central banks would prefer to overlook a temporary spike in energy prices, if they remain elevated for a long period, it may feed through into higher core inflation as businesses pass on higher transport and production costs.

"This would hamper central banks' ability to cut interest rates to cushion the anticipated growth slowdown from President Trump's tariffs, which adds another variable for the Fed to consider when it meets to discuss interest rates this week."

Both main oil contracts were up more than 1% in early Asian trade.

- AFP

Israel's military warned on Monday of a new missile salvo incoming from Iran, as AFP journalists reported loud explosions in Jerusalem and fires outside the coastal city of Haifa.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the army posted on Telegram, using the acronym for its official name.

It said its air defences were working to intercept the threat but advised people to "enter a protected space and remain there until further notice".

An AFP journalist heard loud explosions in Jerusalem early on Monday, while footage showed Israeli air defences working over the city.

Outside Haifa, an AFP journalist saw fires break out following the latest Iranian barrage.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, the latest conflict marks the first time arch-enemies Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a conflict that could engulf the Middle East.

It began on Friday, when Israel launched attacks that have killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists, and struck military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across Iran.

- AFP

US President Donald Trump has urged Iran and Israel – who are locked in an exchange of military strikes – to “make a deal”, but suggested they might need to “fight it out” first.

“I think it's time for a deal,” Trump told reporters, as Israel and Iran exchanged a fresh barrage of missile strikes and threatened more devastation in a conflict that appeared to be intensifying.

“But sometimes they have to fight it out, but we're going to see what happens,” Trump said, speaking at the White House before heading to Canada to take part in a G7 summit.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, the latest conflict marks the first time arch-enemies Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the entire Middle East.

It began on Friday (local time), when Israel launched attacks that have killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists, and struck military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across the country.

Trump refused to answer a question about whether he had asked Israel to pause airstrikes on Iran.

Earlier, a senior US official told AFP that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he believed the two sides “should make a deal, and will make a deal”.

There are “many calls and meetings now taking place” on the issue, and peace could be achieved “soon” between the longtime adversaries, he said.

– AFP