Netanyahu Says Israel Halted Strikes on Iran, Warns Overwhelming Force If Attacks Resume

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday afternoon that Israel had halted strikes against Iran, warning that if "Iran makes the mistake of resuming attacks on us, we will respond with overwhelming force," while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps signaled via a statement carried by Fars that it had halted its fire against Israel.

“Skip to main content live_blog_singular Latest developments: Iran-Israel hostilities escalate across region 'I said, 'Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon',' Axios quotes Trump as saying 08 June 2026”

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The renewed fighting followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that both sides “must immediately stop shooting,” and the Time Magazine account said the exchanges marked the worst exchanges of fire since the cease-fire came into place in April.

Haaretz

Time Magazine also described Israel bombing Iranian cities after intercepting a wave of ballistic missiles from Iran on Sunday night, with explosions heard in Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan and an Iranian petrochemical plant in Bandar-e Mahshar.

NPR reported that Netanyahu said Israel's fire against Iran is "on hold" but added, "should the [Iranian] terror regime make the mistake of returning to attack us, we will respond with force — because Israel has every right to self-defense."

NPR further said Iran cited Israel's operations against Hezbollah as the reason it unleashed a missile barrage on Israel on Sunday night and again on Monday morning, while Iran’s military said it was halting further attacks for now and warned that if Israel kept up attacks in Lebanon, Iran would respond with "much harsher and more forceful actions than before."

The Jerusalem Post said Yemen’s Houthis brought Israel back to conflict on four fronts after a missile launch by Yemen’s Houthis at Israeli territory early on Monday, with sirens sounding across central Israel and the West Bank from south of Hebron to Tel Aviv.

The Jerusalem Post reported that shortly after the Houthis’ Monday attack, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed it had targeted the Tel Aviv area and said the reason was Israel’s alleged “Greater Israel” project.

NPR

Saree also cited Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Gaza, and Iran and announced that the Houthis declared a full ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, threatening to target any “enemy” movement there.

In parallel, NPR said the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen fired missiles at Israel, prompting another round of sirens in the Tel Aviv area, and said the Houthis would prevent Israeli-linked ships from sailing in the Red Sea.

The Guardian described the wider escalation as Iran launching missiles at Israel in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, shattering a fragile ceasefire and prompting sirens across northern Israel after the IDF said it had so far intercepted all the Iranian ballistic missiles.

Time Magazine framed the regional stakes around the risk that the Houthis’ Red Sea ban could disrupt global shipping, saying that if the Houthis resume attacks in the waterway, it could mean even more disruptions to global shipping and exacerbate higher prices of energy and other commodities due to the war.

“After trading missile fire, Israel and Iran pull back — for now TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel and Iran both pledged Monday to stop attacking each other, a move that came only hours after they exchanged missile fire and ratcheted up tensions throughout the Middle East”

NPR

Time Magazine also said Israel’s decision to retaliate against Iran may have contradicted Trump’s reported advice to hold off on an attack in hopes of reaching a U.S.-Iran deal, and it described the conflict as a test for Trump who has sought to wind down U.S. engagement in the war.

NPR reported that Israel ordered schools closed on Monday as a precautionary measure after the missile exchanges, and it said falling debris ignited brush fires but no damage or injuries were reported.

The Guardian said the Beirut strike hit two apartments in two separate buildings in the Dahieh district and that Lebanon’s state news agency reported killing two people and wounding 11, while the Israeli prime minister’s office said the Israeli military struck “terrorist headquarters” in the southern suburbs “in response to Hezbollah’s firing at Israeli territory”.

The Jerusalem Post added that after the Houthis’ Monday attack, the IDF continued to strike at terrorist activity in Gaza, leaving Israel’s home front facing attacks from the Islamic Republic, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the Houthis at the same time.