TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel on Sunday hailed its profitable air defenses within the face of an unprecedented assault by Iran, saying it and its allies thwarted 99% of the greater than 300 drones and missiles launched towards its territory. However regional tensions stay excessive, amid fears of additional escalation within the occasion of a potential Israeli counter-strike.
U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned he would convene a gathering of the Group of Seven superior democracies on Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen assault.” The language indicated that the Biden administration doesn’t need Iran’s assault to spiral right into a broader army battle.
Iran launched the assault in response to a strike extensively blamed on Israel on an Iranian consular constructing in Syria earlier this month which killed two Iranian generals. Israel mentioned Iran launched 170 drones, greater than 30 cruise missiles and greater than 120 ballistic missiles early Sunday.
The 2 foes have for years been engaged in a shadow warfare marked by incidents just like the Damascus strike. However Sunday’s assault, which set off air raid sirens throughout Israel, marked the primary time Iran has launched a direct army assault on Israel, regardless of many years of enmity relationship again to the nation’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israel has over time established – typically with the assistance of the US — 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.
That system, together with collaboration with U.S. and different forces, helped thwart what may have been a much more devastating assault at a time when Israel is already slowed down in its warfare towards Hamas in Gaza and engaged in low-level preventing on its northern border with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia. Each Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran.
Israeli and U.S. officers lauded the response to the aerial assault.
“Iran launched greater than 300 threats and 99% had been intercepted,” mentioned Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army spokesman. “That could be a success.” Requested if Israel would reply, Hagari mentioned the nation would do what was wanted to guard its residents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a brief message on X, previously Twitter: “We intercepted. We blocked. Collectively, we are going to win.”
Protection Minister Yoav Gallant additionally celebrated the outcomes, thanking the U.S. and different international locations for his or her help, however warned that the incident was ongoing.
“This marketing campaign just isn’t over but. We have to stay vigilant … and to arrange for any situation,” he mentioned in a video assertion. “On the similar time, we blocked the primary wave (of assaults), and we did it with nice success.”
Hagari mentioned minor injury was triggered to an Israeli airbase, however he mentioned it was nonetheless functioning. Rescuers mentioned a 7-year-old woman was severely wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, although they mentioned police had been nonetheless investigating the circumstances of her accidents.
Israel could also be significantly happy with the success of its protection as a result of it stands in sharp distinction to the failures it endured throughout Hamas’ assault on Oct. 7. Going through a far much less highly effective enemy in Hamas, Israel’s border defenses collapsed and the army took days to repel the marauding militants – an embarrassing defeat for the Center East’s strongest and best-equipped military.
Whereas thwarting the Iranian onslaught may assist restore Israel’s picture, what it does subsequent will probably be carefully watched each within the area and in Western capitals.
In Washington, Biden mentioned U.S. forces helped Israel down “practically all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.
Biden, who had reduce brief a weekend keep at his Delaware seashore home to fulfill together with his nationwide safety workforce on the White Home on Saturday afternoon, spoke with Netanyahu later within the day.
“I instructed him that Israel demonstrated a outstanding capability to defend towards and defeat even unprecedented assaults – sending a transparent message to its foes that they can not successfully threaten the safety of Israel,” Biden mentioned.
In a press release Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned the U.S. does “not search escalation,” and would maintain talks with its allies within the coming days.
The U.S., together with its allies, has despatched direct messages to Tehran to warn towards additional escalating the battle.
In a press release 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 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 help or participation in harming Iran’s pursuits will probably be adopted by decisive and regretting response by Iran’s armed forces,” the assertion mentioned.
Iran had vowed revenge for the reason that April 1 airstrike in Syria, for which Tehran held Israel accountable. 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, triggered by the Oct. 7 assault on Israel. On that day, militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, additionally backed by Iran, killed 1,200 folks in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.
An Israeli offensive in Gaza has triggered widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 folks, in keeping with native well being officers.
Negotiations underway meant to deliver a few cease-fire in alternate for the discharge of the hostages appeared to hit a setback Sunday. Netanyahu’s workplace mentioned that Hamas rejected the most recent proposal for a deal.
The proposal had been introduced to Hamas every week in the past by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US.
Nearly instantly after the warfare erupted, Hezbollah started attacking Israel’s northern border. The 2 sides have been concerned in day by day exchanges of fireplace, whereas Iranian-backed teams in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have launched rockets and missiles towards Israel.
Tia Goldenberg, The Related Press
