Iran and Israel swap threats following missile barrage

The Middle East is moving closer to a long-feared regional war the day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.

The move came as the Israelis said they had begun limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.

Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles fired by Iran, and officials in Washington said US destroyers had assisted in Israel’s defence.

Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets. There were no immediate reports of casualties.