Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles on Israel (Image Source: X)
On the night of April 13, Iran launched a significant attack, deploying a barrage of attack drones and missiles from its territory toward Israel. This marked the first direct offensive by the Islamic Republic against Israel. Air raid sirens blared across the country, prompting swift military responses to intercept the incoming Iranian missiles.
The attack by Iran comes in retaliation for last week’s alleged Israeli strike on an Iranian embassy complex in Syria, in an unprecedented move by Tehran that could further widen the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Attack on Israel
Videos capturing Israel’s defence system intercepting ballistic missiles circulated widely on social media, showcasing the tense situation. While some missiles managed to breach the defences, no casualties have been reported thus far, aside from a minor injury to a young girl.
Confirming the anticipated attack at 11 p.m., IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari disclosed that Iran had also launched missiles at Israel. He further noted the presence of “numerous” fighter jets countering Tehran’s assaults.
Sirens began wailing in southern Israeli communities around 1:42 a.m., soon spreading across large areas of the country. Explosions echoed across northern and southern regions, including Jerusalem and many towns in the northern West Bank.
IDF says no causality reported so far
As per the Times of Israel, Magen David Adom ambulance service reported that their medics attended to a young girl in southern Israel injured by shrapnel during the interception of an Iranian drone in the vicinity. The 7-year-old girl, residing in a Bedouin community close to Arad, received medical attention and was subsequently transported to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. Her condition was deemed serious upon arrival at the hospital.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed launching dozens of drones and missiles against specific targets in Israel, as Iranian state media quoted a statement by the elite force. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted an anonymous official saying that ballistic missiles were launched as part of the attack.
The IDF military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in total, Iran launched more than 200 projectiles at Israel, including dozens of ballistic missiles.
According to the IDF spokesman, most of the missiles were intercepted by the long-range Arrow air defence system. ‘The missiles were mostly downed outside of Israeli airspace,’ he said, adding that fighter jets also intercepted dozens of cruise missiles and dozens of drones.
In a separate statement, the IDF stressed it intercepted ‘the vast majority’ of the dozens of ballistic missiles, with the Arrow system shooting them down before they entered Israeli skies.
‘Dozens of Air Force planes continue at this hour to intercept all air threats that are making their way toward the territory of the State of Israel,’ the military added.
Hagari stressed the incident was not over. The IDF’s Home Front Command later announced Israelis nationwide no longer need to stay near protected rooms, but said restrictions on gatherings and the cancellation of all educational activities and school trips remained in force as announced earlier.
America backs Israel
As per Times of Israel, three US officials said the American military shot down Iranian drones headed toward Israel, without disclosing how many were shot down or the precise locations. Security sources told Reuters that US forces operating from undisclosed bases in the region shot down a number of Iranian drones in Sweida and Deraa provinces in southern Syria near the Jordanian border.
Jordanian jets downed dozens of Iranian drones flying across northern and central Jordan heading to Israel, two regional security sources said in a dramatic show of support from Amman, which has heavily criticized Israel’s prosecution of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Britain said Royal Air Force jets in the Middle East “will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required.”
“In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks,” the statement added.
Iranian threats
Syrian army sources told Reuters, explaining they expected Israel to retaliate against army bases and installations where pro-Iranian militia were based.
Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani meanwhile threatened a firm response to any country that ‘opens its airspace or territory for attacks on Iran by Israel,’ Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
“However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe. It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US MUST STAY AWAY!” Iran’s Permanent Mission added in its statement on X.
Shortly after midnight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top defense leaders convened at military headquarters in Tel Aviv for a security assessment.
A ‘senior Israeli official’ was later quoted by Channel 12 news pledging an ‘unprecedented response’ to Iran’s attack and urging Israelis not to go to bed due to what was coming Tehran’s way.
The network also reported that the security cabinet authorized the war cabinet to make decisions regarding Israel’s response to the Iran attack. The decision meant that the war cabinet would not have to return to the security cabinet in order to get decisions approved, thereby streamlining the process when quick decisions are required.
In an earlier press statement, Hagari said the Air Force was tracking the drones, while noting that they would take several hours to reach the country. He said there would be GPS disruptions as the military works to intercept the drones.
“The defense and offense systems of the Israeli Air Force are on alert, and dozens of planes are in the skies — prepared and ready,” said Hagari, adding: “We have an excellent aerial defense array, but the defense is not hermetic.”
He added that the military would update the public if there were any additional attacks that require a separate warning.
Biden’s promise
Earlier in the evening, presaging the attack, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden would cut short a weekend trip to Delaware to hold consultations with his national security team on the potential Iranian strike on Israel.
“I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks against Israel. Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Biden wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after returning to the White House.
Biden’s defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, called his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant for the second time in three days to discuss US support for Israel’s defence, the Pentagon said.
“Secretary Austin made clear that Israel could count on full US support to defend Israel against any attacks by Iran and its regional proxies,” read the statement.
The two later spoke again following the Iranian attack, with Gallant’s office saying he informed Austin “about Israel’s defense actions.”
The minister also thanked Austin for standing by Israel’s side, and “emphasized that the defense establishment maintains maximum readiness against further attack attempts.”
UK PM Sunak supports Israel
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak denounced Iran’s “reckless” attack against Israel, which he said showed that it was “intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”
“These strikes risk inflaming tensions and destabilizing the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard,” Sunak said in a statement.
“The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq,” said Sunak.
France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne condemned Iran’s attack as a “new level” in the threat to security.
“France condemns with the greatest firmness the attack launched by Iran against Israel,” he said on the platform X.
“In deciding to take this unprecedented action, Iran has reached a new level of destabilization and is risking a military escalation,” he added, reiterating France’s commitment to Israel’s security.
Iran-Israel conflict
As per the reports, the Iran-backed Hezbollah has been carrying out daily attacks on Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Security firm Ambrey said Yemen’s Houthi rebels had launched multiple drones at Israel in coordination with Iran, adding that the projectiles were likely timed to reach Israel simultaneously.
“Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) were reportedly launched by the Huthis toward Israel. The UAVs were launched in coordination with Iran,” the company said. “Israeli ports are assessed to be potential targets,” it added, and warned of “collateral damage” to shipping.
Tensions between Israel and Iran had reached a new high in recent days as the Islamic Republic vowed to avenge seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two generals, who were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a building near Tehran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1.
“In response to the numerous crimes committed by the Zionist regime, including the attack on the consular section… the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired dozens of missiles and drones at specific targets inside the occupied territories (Israel),” state television quoted an IRGC statement as saying as the strikes on Israel were announced.
Operation Honest Promise was “being carried out with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council under the supervision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces,” the IRGC statement said.
Within minutes of the launch, the account on X of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reposted his pledge that the “evil (Israeli) regime will be punished.”
Defense Minister Gallant said in a video statement that Israel had “added new capabilities, on land, in the air, at sea, in intelligence, within the State of Israel, and together with our partners, led by the US,” in preparation for attacks from the “terror state” Iran.
Citing unnamed sources, CNN reported Saturday that the US expected Iran to target multiple sites inside Israel and in the region in the coming days, with one of the sources cited as saying that the US had observed Iran preparing as many as 100 cruise missiles to strike Israel. A senior US administration official told CNN that Iran’s proxies could be involved in the attack as well.
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