Warned by Trump, Israel hits Iranian radar in mild response to missile fire on north

Israeli jets carried out a small strike against an Iranian radar north of Tehran on Tuesday afternoon, backing down from a threat to launch a forceful response to Iran violating a mutually agreed ceasefire brokered by Washington just hours after it went into effect.

The Israel Defense Forces said two missiles were shot at the country’s north at around 10:30 a.m., some three and a half hours after the ceasefire began. This followed a missile attack on Beersheba shortly before the truce began that killed four people.

The military said it shot down the two missiles fired in the final barrage. Fragments from the interceptions were later found in the Galilee region.

The renewed hostilities left the future of the ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump unclear, as both sides had stated earlier that they had agreed to halt their attacks so long as the other side did the same. Trump, however, insisted that the ceasefire remained in effect.

Israel vowed to respond forcefully to the missile fire, but scaled down its attack at the last minute after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Trump, who, according to Axios, voiced his disapproval of the planned retaliation in “an exceptionally firm and direct way.”

He was said to have demanded that Israel call off the strike altogether, but Netanyahu refused, saying Israel had to respond somehow to Iran’s violation.

The two then reportedly agreed that only one “symbolic” target would be struck in response to the ceasefire violation, and Netanyahu called off a large number of other planned strikes.

“The president told Netanyahu what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire. The prime minister understood the severity of the situation and the concerns President Trump expressed,” a White House source told Axios.

Trump had also made his displeasure public, telling reporters at the White House that Israel needed to “calm down,” and that he would be “really unhappy” if it launched a retaliation “because of one rocket that didn’t land, that was shot perhaps by mistake.”

And on his Truth Social platform, the president had warned: “Do not drop those bombs. If you do it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now.”

Israel did ultimately turn around most of its fighter jets following Trump’s intervention, although it was unclear how extensive a strike it had been planning.

On his plane, Trump told reporters that he told Netanyahu: “You gotta call back the planes. It’s enough. It’s enough. And they did, which I respect very greatly.”

Iran initially denied firing the missiles at 10:30 a.m. Later, it claimed Israel had itself continued to strike in its territory until 9 a.m. — though Israel appeared to have halted its sorties in the early morning, and Iran had not reported any Israeli violations of the truce prior to firing the missiles.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement immediately following the missile fire that he had instructed the IDF to “respond forcefully in the heart of Tehran” to the violation of the ceasefire.

Katz ordered the military to “continue high-intensity operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran” in light of “Iran’s blatant violation of the ceasefire declared by the president of the United States.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that “in light of the grave violation of the ceasefire by the Iranian regime, we will strike with force.”

“Iran broke the ceasefire,” an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity, “and it will pay.”

Separately, an Israeli official told Channel 12 that Washington backs Israel’s expected response to the violation.

In its earlier statement confirming its acceptance of the US- and Qatari-brokered ceasefire, the Prime Minister’s Office had promised to “respond forcefully” to any violations of the truce.

Lawmakers also called for retaliation against Tehran over the violation.

“Tehran will tremble,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, posted to X.

“Quiet will be answered with quiet, missiles will be answered with…?” tweeted Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech.

Avigdor Liberman, head of the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party, posted: “Three and a half hours after the US president announced a ceasefire, there is shooting from Iran toward northern Israel. We must not accept it, we must not ignore it, we have to respond immediately.”

“Any violation will be met with an appropriate response,” declared Likud lawmaker Tali Gotliv, while fellow Likud MK Avichai Boaron called for strikes “with full force” against symbols of the Iranian regime.

Hebrew media reported that following the public calls for retaliation against Iran by government ministers, members of Netanyahu’s cabinet received instructions not to give interviews or post on social media until being told otherwise.

The pair of missiles came after Iran fired a series of barrages in successive waves at Israel during the morning as the ceasefire was about to start.

One of the 20 missiles in the attacks hit an apartment building in Beersheba, killing four people and injuring dozens.

Despite the deadly attack, Israel signaled it would adhere to the truce and not retaliate — prior to the violation hours later.

Israel and Iran entered into open conflict on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and the country’s ballistic missile program.

Israel said the campaign was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its declared plan to destroy the Jewish state.

Opposition, hostages family urge Gaza deal

Responding to news of the Iran ceasefire before it was violated, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and The Democrats chairman Yair Golan both called for the government to seal a deal that would end the fighting in Gaza and bring back 50 living and dead hostages still being held there. “And now Gaza. It’s time to [finish] there too. Return the hostages, end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding,” said Lapid in a statement.

“The campaign against Iran ended with a clear security achievement, which would not have been possible if Israel were not a democratic, strong, and united state. The ceasefire agreement must now be scrutinized: Does it prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and what sanctions, including renewed fighting, will be imposed if it is violated,” Golan posted on X.

Neither Lapid nor Golan immediately commented on Iran’s violation of the ceasefire.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum struck a more critical tone, calling it a “grave diplomatic failure” to end the fighting in Iran without securing the release of the hostages in Gaza.

Iran, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel says Iran has recently taken steps toward weaponization.

Iran retaliated to Israel’s attacks by launching over 550 ballistic missiles and around 1,000 drones at Israel. Iran’s missile attacks killed 28 people and wounded thousands in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals. Missiles have hit apartment buildings, a university, and a hospital, causing heavy damage.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.