The unrest in the Middle East escalated on Friday after Israel issued retaliatory strikes against Iran over a barrage of missile strikes against Israeli citizens on Oct. 1.

'Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.'

Those strikes were in response to a beeper bomb attack Israel orchestrated against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon north of Israel. That field of war opened up as Israel continues a military operation in the Gaza Strip against Hamas terrorists, who brutally slaughtered more than a thousand people in Israel on Oct. 7.

"In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran," read a statement from the Israeli Defense Forces.

"The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th – on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil," the statement continued. "Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilized."

Reuters reported that strikes were heard in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and in Karaj.

"The regime is vulnerable, and it's up to us to decide which message we want to send to them," said Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon to Fox News last week. "It will be very painful for the Iranian regime, and they will think twice in the future whether to attack Israel or not."

Israel has also racked up eliminations of Hamas leaders, one after the next, as fast as the terror group has tried to replace them.

This is a developing story and may be updated with additional information.

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