Israeli firefighters were searching for two missing people in the rubble of a residential building in the northern city of Haifa after it was struck by an Iranian missile that killed two others, authorities said on Monday.

The direct hit on a seven-storey building tore through sections of the structure, causing it to partially collapse, the military and rescue services said.

The strike took place minutes after the military warned it had detected a new round of missiles fired from Iran.

Elad Edri, chief of staff of Israel's Home Front Command, said that four people were missing. "We have a major destruction site," he said in a video statement.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said later that two of the four people trapped under the rubble had been found dead.

Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said four people were wounded in the strike, including a 10-month-old baby who suffered a head injury and an 82-year-old man who was in a stable condition.

He was "wounded by a heavy object and the blast", the MDA said, adding that the other three suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

MDA paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders "managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands".

The attack was part of an Iranian response to US-Israeli attacks on Monday that killed more than 25 people in Iran, with Gulf Arab neighbours hit as well.

Explosions rang out into the night in Tehran and low-flying jets could be heard for hours as the capital was pounded. Thick black smoke rose near the city's Azadi Square after one airstrike hit the Sharif University of Technology grounds.

The tit-for-tat attacks came as Iran threatened "devastating" retaliation after US President Donald Trump's expletive-laced warning that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil supply flows.

Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also reported a barrage of missile and drone strikes early on Monday.

Tehran ramped up its rhetoric against Trump, with Tehran's central military command warning of "much more devastating" retaliation if its adversaries hit civilian targets. (AFP & AP)


Edited by Priscilla Ng