Iran launched more than two hundred drones loaded with explosives, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against military targets in Israel on Saturday night in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of its consulate in Damascus on April 1, an unprecedented direct attack by the Islamic Republic against Israeli territory.
At the same time, Iran's allies, in particular the Yemeni Houthis and the Lebanese Hezbollah, also launched attacks against Israel, with the former launching drones and the latter launching two mortars against the occupied Golan Heights.
The UN Security Council, whose Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the «serious escalation», is scheduled to meet later today. Also later in the day, G7 leaders are expected to discuss to coordinate a «unified diplomatic response» to Iran's «shameless» attack, US President Joe Biden announced.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose army is waging a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave that has suffered huge destruction since October 7, spoke by telephone with US President Biden after a meeting of his war cabinet, his agencies said.
Biden reiterated in this conversation the «unwavering» US support for Israel, according to the White House.
However, according to a source from the news website Axios, Biden also tried to discourage a possible Israeli counter-attack on Iran.
Announcing at around 03:30 (local and Greek time) today that the Iranian attack was still ongoing, the Israeli military said that Iran «launched a massive swarm of 200 deadly drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles», the «vast majority» of which were intercepted and destroyed.
«A number of Iranian missiles landed on Israeli territory, causing minor damage to a military base but no casualties,» the spokesman added.
For its part, the IRNA news agency claimed that the «largest air base in Negev» in southern Israel was «severely damaged».
Early in the morning, in a new announcement by Commander-in-Chief Daniel Hagari, it was clarified that «over 300» drones and missiles were launched and that 99% was shot down. Assuring that the attack was «averted», the commander-in-chief described it as «very serious» and added that it «pushes the region towards escalation».
While Iran has demanded that the US remain «on the sidelines» of the conflict, the US armed forces have assisted Israel in shooting down «almost all» of its drones and missiles, US President Biden and his administration's Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin have announced.
The head of the US Pentagon demanded that Tehran de-escalate, adding that «we are not seeking war with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support Israel's defense.».
Iran's attack was in retaliation for the April 1 bombing that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least 16 people, including seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, including two lieutenants of the corps' Quds Force, which is in charge of Iranian operations abroad. The Islamic Republic has blamed Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied this.
Explosions in the ethers
Shortly before 02:00 (local and Greek time), a series of explosions froze the residents of Jerusalem. The sky was filled with orange and yellow lights, with many citizens sharing images on social media sites.
«The streets are empty, all the people have rushed home,» Eliyahu Baraka, a trader in the city centre, told Agence France-Presse.
The shocking images of the interception of missiles over Jerusalem, a holy site of three religions, are making the rounds on the internet.
The air defence sirens sounded in the city, as in Negev and other Israeli cities.
About an hour after the announcement of the operation, dubbed «Honest Promise», the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported that a «first wave of ballistic missiles» was launched, targeting «deep inside the occupied territories» (i.e. Israel).
«The Air Force of the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards Corps launched dozens of missiles and drones against specific targets inside the occupied territories,» Iranian state television reported, citing the corps.
Announcing the Iranian attack shortly after 23:00, Israeli army spokesman Hagari said that «we are closely monitoring killer drones launched by Iran and in flight» towards Israel. He condemned the «serious escalation», the «direct attack launched from Iranian territory».
An Israeli official warned that there was a risk that other «waves of drones» could follow.
However, a few hours after the end of the alert, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu assured: «we intercepted, we repelled, together we will win,» via X.
«Stay away»
Israel closed its airspace from 00:30 and reopened it at 07:30, according to the country's airport authority. Schools will be closed today - the first day of the week in Israel - and tomorrow Monday.
«This is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime» and the US «should stay away», the Iranian mission to the UN said.
«The case can be considered closed», but «if the Israeli regime commits another mistake, Iran's retaliation will be much more serious», he said.
Shouting «death to Israel» and «death to America», thousands of citizens took to the streets of Iranian cities to celebrate the Iranian attack.
In the minutes following the launch of the operation, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's X-platform account posted a video excerpt from his speech on Wednesday, in which he stressed that «the evil regime will be punished».
Jordan and Lebanon, countries neighbouring Israel, as well as Iraq, neighbouring Iran, have announced that they are closing their airspace. Egypt, another neighbour of Israel, put its anti-aircraft defences on alert and urged all parties to show «maximum restraint».
The British government announced that it is sending additional fighters to the Near East to intercept «any air attack» if «necessary».
Paris condemned the Iranian attack and Berlin warned that it could plunge the whole region «into chaos».
War in Gaza
Earlier yesterday, Revolutionary Guard naval special forces seized an Israel-linked ship with a crew of 25 in Gulf waters.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, which does not recognise the existence of the Jewish state, is a staunch ally of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which on 7 October launched the bloodiest attack ever on Israeli territory, killing 1,170 people, most of them civilians, according to a French Agency report based on official Israeli data. Another 250 or more people were abducted, of whom 129 are still in the Palestinian enclave - but at least 34 of them are believed to have been killed, always according to Israeli sources.
In retaliation, Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, which it describes as a «terrorist» organisation, as have the US and the EU, and the military operations it has launched have so far killed at least 33,686 people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of them women and children, according to the health ministry of the enclave.
The Israeli army has continued the war in the small area it has been besieging for more than six months and its 2.4 million inhabitants are threatened with starvation, according to the UN.
