Israel-Iran updates: Iran launches more missiles at Israel, sirens sound in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

A senior Israeli security official told ABC News that the Iranian General Staff and senior nuclear scientists were likely killed in the first of the series of Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear targets.

"There is a growing likelihood that the Iranian General Staff, including the Iranian Chief of Staff, and senior nuclear scientists were eliminated in the opening blow," the official said.

-ABC News' Dana Hughes

The president’s schedule released by the White House late Thursday showed that he would meet with the National Security Council in the Situation Room at 11 a.m.

As of now, the meeting is not open to cameras or reporters.

The State Department has launched a Middle East task force focused on potentially evacuating American citizens from the region, two department officials told ABC News.

“The Department continuously plans for a wide range of situations for regions with heightened tensions,” one official said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston

In a video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had no choice but to stage a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear program.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponize this enriched uranium, and if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time,” he said.

“It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival,” he said.