JERUSALEM — The sound of booms and air raid sirens echoed across Israel early Sunday as Iran initiated an unprecedented retaliation mission, launching hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.
This act brought the Middle East one step closer to a potential regionwide war. A military spokesperson reported that over 300 launches took place, with 99% of them being successfully intercepted.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, in describing the outcomes of the attack, stated that Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles, and over 120 ballistic missiles. While a few of the ballistic missiles managed to reach Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base, the majority were neutralized.
Rescuers reported that a 7-year-old girl in a Bedouin Arab town in southern Israel suffered serious injuries, presumably from a missile strike. However, police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding her injuries.
President Joe Biden, in Washington, mentioned that US forces assisted Israel in intercepting “nearly all” of the drones and missiles. He also promised to convene allies in order to develop a unified response to the situation.
This attack by Iran is the first direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of hostility dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. It comes less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria resulted in the deaths of two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.
Condemnation swiftly followed from various entities, including the United Nations, with France warning of the risk of military escalation, Britain labeling the attack as reckless, and Germany demanding an immediate cessation of such actions by Iran and its proxies.
Regarding the interceptions, Hagari clarified that the majority occurred outside Israel’s borders, with warplanes intercepting ten cruise missiles.
“A wide-scale attack by Iran is a significant escalation,” he stated. When asked about Israel’s response, Hagari merely mentioned that the army would take whatever actions are necessary to ensure Israel’s security. He also emphasized that the incident was not yet over, and dozens of Israeli warplanes remained in the air.
Israel’s military highlighted the utilization of its Arrow system, which is capable of shooting down ballistic missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere. They further acknowledged the involvement of “strategic partners.”
“In support of the defense of Israel, the US military deployed aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the past week per my instruction,” Biden revealed in a statement. “Thanks to these deployments and the exceptional skill of our servicemen, we were able to assist Israel in intercepting nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also issued a statement, confirming that US forces intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen en route to Israel.Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a conversation early Sunday, Israeli time, as announced by their respective governments. In his statement, Biden expressed his commitment to Israel’s security, which marked a departure from his previous criticism of Israel’s actions in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Following an airstrike in Syria on April 1, for which Iran accused Israel of being responsible, Iran had vowed retaliation. Israel has not commented on the matter.
Throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas militants in Gaza, tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated. The war began after two Iranian-backed militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, conducted a devastating cross-border attack on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 others. In response, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza, leading to significant destruction and a death toll of over 33,000, according to local health officials.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon, started targeting Israel’s northern border. Both sides have been engaging in daily fire exchanges, while Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have launched rockets and missiles towards Israel.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged launching “dozens of drones and missiles towards the occupied territories and positions of the Zionist regime” in a statement reported by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency on Saturday. The Revolutionary Guard also directly warned the U.S., stating that any support or involvement in harming Iran’s interests would be met with a decisive response from Iran’s armed forces.
According to an anonymous official quoted by IRNA, ballistic missiles were used in the attack. Ballistic missiles follow an arched trajectory, reaching the upper atmosphere before descending at a speed several times faster than the speed of sound.
Israel possesses an air defense system consisting of multiple layers capable of intercepting various threats, including long-range missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and short-range rockets. However, in a massive attack involving numerous drones and missiles, the possibility of some projectiles breaking through increases.
Iran possesses a vast arsenal of drones and missiles. Online videos shared by Iranian state television purported to show delta-wing-style drones resembling the Russian Shahed-136s, which have been used in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. These slow-flying drones are equipped with bombs. Ukraine has successfully targeted these drones using surface-to-air missiles and ground fire.
Several Israelis witnessed the interceptions illuminating the night sky. Reports of air raid sirens were received from multiple locations, including northern and southern Israel, the northern West Bank, and the Dead Sea area near the Jordanian border.Israel’s army has ordered residents in the Golan Heights, near the Syrian and Lebanese borders, as well as the southern towns of Nevatim and Dimona, and the Red Sea resort of Eilat, to seek shelter. Dimona is home to Israel’s main nuclear facility, and Nevatim has a major air base. Loud booms were reported in Jerusalem and various parts of Israel.
In response, the army’s Home Front Command canceled school and restricted public gatherings to a maximum of 1,000 people. Several countries, including Israel, closed their airspace.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a warning: “We will retaliate against anyone who threatens us.”
President Biden held a meeting with the National Security Council in Washington to discuss the attack.
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General Erik Kurilla, head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, flew to Israel over the weekend to consult with Israeli defense officials. The Central Command oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations issued a warning to both Israel and the U.S., stating online, “If the Israeli regime makes another mistake, Iran’s response will be much more severe. This is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, and the U.S. must not intervene!”
For days, Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had threatened to retaliate against Israel for the Syria strike.
In Tehran, the capital of Iran, witnesses reported long lines at gas stations early Sunday as people appeared concerned about future events. Dozens of hard-liners demonstrated in support of the attack at Palestine Square.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, there were heavy Israeli airstrikes and shelling in multiple locations in southern Lebanon following Iran’s launch of drones. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah claimed to have fired “dozens” of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military site in the Golan Heights early Sunday. It remains uncertain if any damage occurred.
Iranian missiles or drones were intercepted in the sky above the Jordanian capital, Amman.
In Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and elsewhere in the country, residents reported seeing missiles in the sky and hearing explosions, likely from interceptions. In Syria, explosions were heard in the capital, Damascus, and elsewhere. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Syrian air defenses tried to shoot down Israeli attempts to intercept Iranian missiles.
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