Iran launched more than 200 drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday in response to a strike on its consulate in Damascus, the first direct attack ever carried out by the Islamic Republic against Israeli territory.
Iran launched more than 200 drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday in response to a strike on its consulate in Damascus, the first direct attack ever carried out by the Islamic Republic against Israeli territory.
At the same time, Iran’s allies, Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthi rebels have carried out anti-Israeli attacks, the former firing rockets into the Israeli-occupied Golan, and the latter launching drones towards of Israeli territory.
An emergency meeting of the Security Council is planned for Sunday, after UN boss Antonio Guterres condemned “a serious escalation”.
Asserting around 3:20 a.m. local time (00:20 GMT) on Sunday that the Iranian attack was still underway, the Israeli army indicated that Iran had “launched a swarm of 200 killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles”, including “the vast majority” were intercepted.
“Iranian missiles fell in Israeli territory, causing minor damage to a military base but without causing any casualties,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari.
The official Iranian agency Irna reported “serious damage in the most important air base in the Negev (south)”.
While Iran has asked Washington to “stay away” from the conflict, US forces in the region have shot down Iranian drones targeting Israel, a US official said.
Several detonations were heard in the sky in Jerusalem, where warning sirens sounded, according to AFP journalists. Sirens were also activated in the Negev region and the north of the country.
About an hour after the announcement of the launch of the Iranian operation, called “Honest Promise”, the Irna agency indicated that “a first wave of ballistic missiles” had been launched “deep into” Israeli territory.
“The Revolutionary Guards air force fired dozens of missiles and drones at specific targets,” according to state television quoting the Guards, Iran’s ideological army.
This attack was in response to the April 1 strike that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and cost the lives of two senior Guards officers, they said. Iran accused Israel of the strike, but the latter neither confirmed nor denied it.
“Killer drones”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose army is engaged in a war in Gaza, gathered his staff and his close collaborators overnight.
President Joe Biden reiterated the “unwavering commitment” of the United States “to the security” of the Israeli ally.
Announcing the Iranian attack shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday (8 p.m. GMT), Daniel Hagari said: “we are closely monitoring the killer drones sent by Iran and en route to Israel.”
He denounced this “direct attack launched from Iranian soil” as a “dangerous escalation”.
Other “waves of drones” targeting Israel are possible, an Israeli military official has warned.
“Stay away!”
Israel closed its airspace on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. local (Saturday at 9:30 p.m. GMT). Schools will be closed on Sunday, the first day of the week in Israel, and Monday.
“This is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the United States MUST STAY AWAY!”, declared the Iranian mission to the UN in a message posted on X.
“The case can be considered closed. However, if the Israeli regime makes another mistake, Iran’s response would be considerably more severe,” she warned.
With cries of “Death to Israel”, “Death to America”, a few thousand people gathered in the main cities of Iran to greet the Iranian attack.
“Devilish diet”
Just after the operation began, the X account of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a message saying: “the evil regime will be punished.”
Jordan and Lebanon, Israel’s neighbors, have announced the closure of their airspace, as has Iraq, which borders Iran. Also a neighbor of Israel, Egypt has announced that it is putting its air defenses on high alert.
The British government said it was sending additional fighter jets to the Middle East and would intercept “any air attack… if necessary.”
Paris condemned the Iranian attack and Berlin said it could plunge the region “into chaos.”
War in Gaza
Earlier on Saturday, Revolutionary Guard maritime special forces seized a ship accused of being “linked” to Israel, with 25 crew members on board, in Gulf waters.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, which does not recognize the existence of Israel, is an ally of Hamas, author of an unprecedented bloody attack on Israeli soil on October 7 which provoked a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza, where 33,686 people, mainly civilians, died according to the authorities of the Palestinian Islamist movement.
Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, is classified as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
The Israeli army continued its war in the Gaza Strip, which it has besieged since October 9 and where the majority of the 2.4 million inhabitants are threatened with famine according to the UN.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an attack in southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,170 people, the majority civilians, according to a report established by AFP based on official data. More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain detained in Gaza, 34 of whom have died, according to Israeli officials.
