Calling the end result “a really vital strategic success,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari mentioned Iran fired 170 drones, greater than 30 cruise missiles and greater than 120 ballistic missiles. Of these, a number of ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, inflicting minor harm to an air base.
Rescuers mentioned a 7-year-old lady in a Bedouin Arab city was significantly wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, although they mentioned police had been nonetheless investigating the circumstances of her accidents.
In Washington, President Joe Biden mentioned U.S. forces helped Israel down “practically all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.
The Iranian assault, lower than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular constructing, marked the primary time Iran has launched a direct navy assault on Israel, regardless of many years of enmity courting again to the nation’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israeli navy says Iran has launched drones at Israel
Condemnation from the United Nations chief and others was swift, with France saying Iran “is risking a possible navy escalation,” Britain calling the assault “reckless” and Germany saying Iran and its proxies “should cease it instantly.”
Hagari mentioned the overwhelming majority of the intercepts got here outdoors Israel’s borders, together with 10 cruise missiles that had been intercepted by warplanes.
“A large-scale assault by Iran is a significant escalation,” he mentioned. Requested whether or not Israel would reply, Hagari mentioned solely that the military “does and can do no matter is required to guard the safety of the state of Israel.” He mentioned the incident was not over, and dozens of Israeli warplanes remained within the skies.
Israel’s navy mentioned its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outdoors the ambiance, dealt with most interceptions and famous that “strategic companions” had been concerned.
“At my course, to assist the protection of Israel, the U.S. navy moved plane and ballistic missile protection destroyers to the area over the course of the previous week,” Biden mentioned in an announcement. “Thanks to those deployments and the extraordinary ability of our service members, we helped Israel take down practically all the incoming drones and missiles.”
U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned in a separate assertion that U.S. forces “intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs en path to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.”
Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke early Sunday, Israeli time, their governments mentioned. Biden mentioned in his assertion that he reaffirmed “America’s ironclad dedication” to Israel’s safety — a departure from his rising criticism of Israel’s conduct in its warfare on Hamas in Gaza.
Iran had vowed revenge because the April 1 airstrike in Syria, which Tehran accused Israel of being accountable for. Israel hasn’t commented on it.
Israel and Iran have been on a collision course all through Israel’s six-month warfare towards Hamas militants in Gaza. The warfare erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant teams backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border assault on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 individuals in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. An Israeli offensive in Gaza has triggered widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 individuals, in line with native well being officers.
Virtually instantly after the warfare erupted, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon, started attacking Israel’s northern border. The 2 sides have been concerned in every day exchanges of fireside, whereas Iranian-backed teams in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have launched rockets and missiles towards Israel.
In an announcement carried late Saturday by Iran’s state-run IRNA information company, the nation’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged launching “dozens of drones and missiles in the direction of the occupied territories and positions of the Zionist regime.”
In a later assertion, the Revolutionary Guard issued a direct warning to the U.S.: “The terrorist U.S. authorities is warned any assist or participation in harming Iran’s pursuits will likely be adopted by decisive and regretting response by Iran’s armed forces.”
IRNA additionally quoted an nameless official saying ballistic missiles had been a part of the assault. A ballistic missile strikes on an arch trajectory, heading up into house earlier than gravity brings the weapon down at a velocity a number of instances sooner than the velocity of sound.
Israel has a multilayered air-defense community that features techniques able to intercepting quite a lot of threats together with long-range missiles, cruise missiles, drones and short-range rockets. Nevertheless, in a large assault involving a number of drones and missiles, the chance of a strike making it via is increased.
Iran has an unlimited arsenal of drones and missiles. On-line movies shared by Iranian state tv purported to indicate delta-wing-style drones resembling the Iranian Shahed-136s lengthy utilized by Russia in its warfare on Ukraine. The slow-flying drones carry bombs. Ukraine has efficiently used each surface-to-air missiles and floor hearth to focus on them.
Some Israelis watched the interceptions gentle up the night time sky.
Air raid sirens had been reported in quite a few locations together with northern Israel, southern Israel, the northern West Financial institution and the Lifeless Sea close to the Jordanian border.
Israel’s military ordered residents within the Golan Heights — close to the Syrian and Lebanese borders — in addition to the southern cities of Nevatim and Dimona and the Crimson Sea resort of Eilat into protecting areas. Dimona is dwelling to Israel’s essential nuclear facility, and Nevatim has a significant air base. Loud booms had been heard in Jerusalem and northern and southern Israel.
The military’s Dwelling Entrance Command canceled faculty Sunday and restricted public gatherings to not more than 1,000 individuals. Israel and another international locations within the area closed their airspace.
Earlier, Netanyahu warned: “Whoever harms us, we are going to hurt them.”
In Washington, Biden convened a principals assembly of the Nationwide Safety Council to debate the assault.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top of the U.S. navy’s Central Command, was in Israel over the weekend consulting with Israeli protection officers. The Central Command oversees U.S. forces within the Center East.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations issued a warning to each Israel and the U.S. “Ought to the Israeli regime make one other mistake, Iran’s response will likely be significantly extra extreme,” it wrote on-line. “It’s a battle between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. MUST STAY AWAY!”
For days, Iranian officers together with Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had threatened to “slap” Israel for the Syria strike.
In Iran’s capital, Tehran, witnesses noticed lengthy strains at fuel stations early Sunday as individuals appeared nervous about what might come subsequent. Dozens of hard-liners demonstrated in assist of the assault at Palestine Sq..
Lebanon’s state-run Nationwide Information Company reported heavy Israeli airstrikes and shelling on a number of places in south Lebanon following Iran’s launch of drones. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah mentioned it launched “dozens” of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli navy web site within the Golan Heights early Sunday. It was not instantly clear if there was any harm.
Iranian missiles or drones had been intercepted within the sky above the Jordanian capital, Amman. In Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and elsewhere within the nation, residents reported seeing missiles within the sky and listening to explosions, doubtless from interceptions. In Syria, explosions had been heard within the capital, Damascus, and elsewhere. Britain-based warfare monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Syrian air defenses tried to shoot down Israeli makes an attempt to intercept Iranian missiles.
