Israel, Iran trade fire for sixth day as conflict deepens
TEHRAN
Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.
Israel's army on Wednesday said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran, adding that its defensive systems were operating to intercept the threat.
The announcement came after Iran issued an evacuation warning for residents of the Israeli city of Haifa.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, meanwhile announced plans for evacuating Americans by air and sea.
Iran was in a "near-total national internet blackout", London-based watchdog NetBlocks wrote on X.
Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict, placing heavier limits on Wednesday.
The communication ministry said in a in a statement carried by Fars news agency that the limits were imposed due to Israel's "abuse of the country's communication network for military purposes."
Numerous sites and apps have been at least partially inaccessible.
State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users' location and personal data and "communicates them to the Zionist enemy".
A WhatsApp spokesperson hit back against the claims, saying: "We're concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most."
