UPDATE – Israel launches new airstrikes in western Iran amid escalating conflict

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli warplanes launched a fresh wave of airstrikes in western Iran on Monday as escalation continued to rise between the two regional arch-foes.

Fighter jets struck a truck exhibition in the Dizel Abad neighborhood in Kermanshah in western Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Sounds of explosions were heard in the area, with reports saying that at least one person was injured.

Another Israeli strike hit Farabi Hospital in the same city, the Tasnim news agency said, without giving any details about damage or injuries.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denounced the hospital attack as “a grave violation of international law and war crime.”

Regional tensions have escalated since Friday when Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israeli authorities said that at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks since Friday.

Iran, for its part, said that at least 224 people have been killed and over 1,000 others wounded in the Israeli assault.