Iran fired a barrage of missiles and armed drones at Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Damascus that killed several senior Iranian commanders, pushing the Middle East closer to a full-fledged regional war.
Just before 2 a.m. Israeli time, sirens went off in Jerusalem, southern and northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. The skies above Israel were lit by the arrival of Israeli missiles and air defense interceptors.
Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said Iran had fired more than 200 killer drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at Israel. Speaking at 3 a.m. local time, he said the attack was “ongoing” but that so far the vast majority of projectiles had been intercepted.
Israeli paramedic services said a 10-year-old Bedouin girl was seriously injured in the south of the country. Hagari said minor damage was caused to an Israeli military base, also in the south.
Iran’s mission to the UN said on social media platform She said “the matter can be considered closed.” But he adds that if Israel “makes another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe” and warns the United States to “stay away.”
Confirming that Israel’s response involved the United States, a US defense official said US forces in the region had shot down drones launched by Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said “dozens” of missiles and drones had been launched against Israel. Iran’s Foreign Ministry later said the attack on Israeli “military bases” was carried out to defend Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
An article published on the account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on X said: “The evil regime will be punished. »
The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, described the assault as a “multi-level attack from four directions, deploying “hundreds of drones and a large number of missiles of different types.”
He said that in addition to Iran, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Iraqi militants and Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched attacks against Israel. Hezbollah said it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli barracks in the Golan Heights.
Shortly before the barrage reached Israel on Sunday, the Israeli military warned people in the occupied Golan Heights, as well as areas around the southern towns of Dimona, Nevatim and Eilat, to stay close to shelters. until further notice “.
Israel’s alleged strike on the Damascus consulate marks a significant escalation of hostilities that have engulfed the Middle East since the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel in October.
Over the past six months, Israeli forces have exchanged near-daily fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, while other Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have also fired missiles and drones into Israel.
But so far, Iran and Israel have avoided direct confrontation. Despite their long history of enmity, the two countries have never exchanged fire through strikes launched from their own soil. Only once before – in 2018 – have Iranian forces based in Syria fired directly at Israel.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack and urged all parties to exercise restraint, saying he was “deeply alarmed by the very real danger of a devastating, region-wide escalation.” “.
The Iranian attack “puts the region on the brink of a broader regional war that almost no one really seems to want,” said Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative.
Iran’s first direct attack on Israel “breaks the previous conflict threshold” in their long war, he said. “At present, what is clear is that this is the beginning of a new era, in which Iran is prepared to respond directly to Israeli attacks and, in doing so, risk retaliation against the Iranian homeland. »
Iranian leaders had vowed revenge after the attack on the consulate in Damascus, which Iranian officials considered “sovereign territory” and which cost the lives of a high-ranking Iranian general and six other military officers.
In recent days, Israel has been preparing for a response. Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military announced limits on public gatherings and closed schools for the next two days. Hagari said “dozens” of Israeli warplanes were in the air in anticipation of the Iranian assault and that GPS disruptions could occur in parts of the country.
Other countries in the region, including Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, have also said they are closing their airspace.
In a recorded statement Saturday, before convening the war cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he appreciated the United States “standing with Israel” and the support of the United Kingdom, the France and other countries.
The longtime prime minister also made a direct threat against Iran. “I have established a clear principle: whoever hurts us, we hurt. We will protect ourselves from any threat and we will do so with composure and determination,” he said.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN then called on the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting and “use all means to take concrete measures against Iran.”
US President Joe Biden cut short a weekend in Delaware and rushed back to Washington on Saturday.
“Just met with my national security team to provide an update on Iran’s attacks on Israel,” Biden tweeted. “Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”
Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives said they were preparing new legislation aimed at providing more aid to Israel and sanctioning Iran and its allies.
In a social media post, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said: “This would NEVER have happened if I were president! »