The Pentagon said US warships fired around a dozen interceptors to help defend Israel from the massive Iranian barrage.

JERUSALEM — Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening in a major attack with little advance warning, sending Israelis scrambling for shelter as the security cabinet convened in a bunker and the United States readied forces to come to Israel’s defense.

The 180 missiles fired at Israel on Tuesday evening sharply escalated the conflict between the two countries and threatened to engulf the Middle East in all-out war.