By Alexander Cornwell, Parisa Hafezi and Jeff Mason TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Iranian missiles struck Israel's Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn on Monday, destroying homes and fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week's G7 meeting that the battle between the two old enemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.

At least 24 people have been killed in Israel as Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes targeting civilian areas. A U.S. Embassy branch in Tel Aviv suffered minor damage.

The Israel Defense Forces said alerts were activated in several areas of the country after the detection of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel. The Air Force was working to intercept them, the IDF said.