Israel, with support from the United States, Britain and other countries, announced that it had intercepted most of the 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran.
In retaliation for Israel's attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria two weeks ago, Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in an unprecedented attack.
The overnight escalation comes more than six months after Israel's devastating war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians and pushed the besieged region to the brink of famine. The war has heightened tensions in the region, spreading to the front lines in Lebanon and Syria, and bringing long-range fire on Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that the Iranian salvo consisted of more than 300 “killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles,” but 99% of it was intercepted with support from French, British and American troops.
The military said the launches came from Iran, as well as Iraq and Yemen, and air raid sirens rang out in cities across Israel, including Tel Aviv, and explosions could be heard as air defense forces intercepted the projectiles. Ta.
Medics said a girl was injured by debris from an intercepted drone in southern Israel, while the military said: “A small number of hits have been confirmed. [an Israeli military] There was minor damage to infrastructure at bases in southern Israel. ”
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) acknowledged the attack and announced on April 1 that it had launched a drone attack under Operation True Promise as part of punishment for “crimes committed by Zionist groups that targeted the Iranian consulate in Syria.” It was announced that a missile had been launched.
The attack in Damascus left 12 people dead, including two senior generals from the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attack on the consulate.
Iran's mission to the United Nations said it considers the issue “closed” following the latest missile and drone attacks, adding that it will respond “quite harshly” if “the Israeli regime makes another mistake.” He warned Israel that he would take it.
He also warned the United States not to become involved in the conflict.
Concerns about further expansion
Before the Iranian attack, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon announced temporary closures of their airspace, while Syria also put Russian-made Pantsir surface-to-air defense systems on high alert in Damascus and around key bases, according to Reuters.
Early Saturday morning, Iranian forces seized a container ship linked to Israel near the Strait of Hormuz.
Western countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Mexico, Netherlands and Norway, condemned Iran's missile and drone attacks. Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for restraint, while the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the issue at Israel's request.
US President Joe Biden cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team at the White House on Saturday afternoon. He also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Saturday and reaffirmed America's “firm commitment” to the security of its allies.
“Israel has demonstrated an incredible ability to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks, sending a clear message to our adversaries that they cannot effectively threaten Israel's security,” Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. said.
In a short post on X, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel would win.
“We intercepted and repulsed. Together we will win,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with his Israeli side “to discuss urgent threats in the region…” and announced that the U.S. will be making full-scale efforts to protect Israel from any attack by Iran and its regional proxies. It was reported that it was made clear that support could be expected.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned Iran's attack, saying he was “deeply alarmed by the very real risk of catastrophic escalation across the region.”
Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said on the social media app Telegram that in addition to the letter from Israel, the Security Council had received a letter from Iran asserting that the attack was within the framework of the UN Charter, which provides for the right of self-defense. said.
“The latter warns that if Israel responds, Iran will respond more forcefully and decisively,” Polyansky said.
China's Foreign Ministry described the situation as “the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict” and called on all parties to “exercise calm and restraint”. The country is deeply concerned about the escalation and said Israel's war on Gaza “must end now.”
Analysts described Iran's attack on Israel as carefully orchestrated to prevent further escalation.
“What the Iranians are trying to do is come up with careful, calculated attacks in order to regain deterrence and not appear weak in front of their proxies,” Iranian University International said Hassan Ballari, a professor involved. Qatar.
However, he expressed concern that the attack could worsen the situation in Gaza.
“I know some right-wing politicians in the government will see this as an opportunity. Now that the world's attention has shifted to Iran and Israel, they could probably do something terrible in Gaza. ” he said.