Iran launches over 100 drones at Israel in first-ever direct attack
Suicide drones expected to take hours to arrive; airspace shuttered in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon; all education Sunday canceled; army says air force ‘prepared and ready’.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) Israel said Saturday night that Iran had launched a large wave of attack drones from its territory toward the Jewish state and that the military was tracking and preparing to intercept them, in the first-ever direct attack on Israel by the Islamic Republic.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari first confirmed at 11 p.m. that the attack, anticipated for several days, had begun.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later confirmed it had launched dozens of drones and missiles against specific targets in Israel, Iranian state media quoted a statement by the elite force as saying. The state-run IRNA news agency later quoted an anonymous official saying that ballistic missiles were launched as part of the attack.
Israel assessed that over 100 drones had been launched. The Israeli Air Force was tracking the drones and was preparing for additional waves of attacks, which may also include missiles.
The drones currently being tracked were expected to reach the country within hours, though the Israel Defense Forces was reportedly working to intercept them at an earlier stage. Channel 12 news reported US and British warplanes have downed some Iranian drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, without citing sources.
Other threats, including ballistic missiles or cruise missiles, will take less time to reach Israel, and the IDF said it would update accordingly.
The incoming attack led Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon to shut down their airspace for a period of several hours. Israel too announced that its airspace would shutter as of Sunday at 12:30 a.m. until an unspecified time, leading to various flight cancellations.
Egyptian military and security sources said said Egypt’s air defenses were on alert. They added that Egypt’s military General Command haf formed a team to monitor the situation and make any necessary decisions regarding the country’s airspace.
Syria also put on high alert its Russian-made Pantsir ground-to-air defense systems around the capital Damascus and major bases in the event of an Israeli strike, 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.
Shortly after midnight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top defense leaders convened at military headquarters in Tel Aviv for a security assessment.
In a 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.”
If there are any additional attacks, that require a separate warning, Hagari said the IDF will update the public.
Sirens will only sound if the drones enter Israeli airspace, at the relevant locations, Hagari said. He added that the IDF will seek to intercept the targets as early as possible.
Channel 12 said the US was the first to identify the launch and immediately notified Israel, leading to a flurry of activity in recent hours in Israel and its surroundings that led to widespread public assessment that an attack was imminent.
State-linked media in Iran reported that a second wave of drones had been launched at Israel.
Two security sources in Iraq said dozens of drones had been spotted flying from Iran toward Israel over Iraqi airspace in what Iranian Press TV called “extensive drone strikes” by the Revolutionary Guards.
Channel 12 aired video from Iraq that purported to show a wave of drones passing overhead in the night sky. Several such videos were shared on social media.
Jordan’s air defenses were ready to intercept and shoot down any Iranian drones or aircraft that violate its airspace, two regional security sources said.
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.
Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, called his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant for the second time in three days to discuss US support for Israel’s defense, 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.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also spoke with his counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi to reinforce Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to Israel’s security.
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.”
France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne condemned Iran’s 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.
Before the incoming attack was confirmed, the IDF’s Home Command issued new guidelines shuttering all schools and educational activity the next day — action that would not affect most schoolchildren, who started their vacation ahead of the Passover holiday at the weekend.
In addition to the closure of educational facilities, the military announced it would be forbidden for more than 1,000 people to assemble outdoors.
The IDF also cancelled its planned enlistment day Sunday amid the Iranian attack on Israel. New conscripts will receive a new date for their draft at a later time.
As Israel braced for the Iranian drones and missiles, warning sirens sound in the northern community of Snir, indicating a rocket was fired from Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group has been carrying out daily attacks on Israel amid the war in the Gaza Strip.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the attack.
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.
Also citing unnamed sources, Channel 12 reported that by the Israeli security establishment’s estimation, Iran would strike military rather than civilian targets.
On Saturday morning, the IRGC seized a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, at least partially Israel-owned, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the incident, Foreign Minister Israel Katz called “on the European Union and the free world” to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization and slap sanctions on Iran.
“The Ayatollah regime of Khamenei is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’s crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” said Katz.
Several international entities have made adjustments to regular business amid the expected Iranian attacks.
Australia’s Qantas and Germany’s Lufthansa airlines on Saturday announced they would reroute flights in the Middle East, with the German airline saying it would avoid Iranian airspace altogether until Tuesday.
Canada on Saturday warned its citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, as Ottawa upgraded its risk assessment in the region.
The Netherlands announced it would keep its embassy in Tehran closed on Sunday, and would decide then whether or not to reopen on Monday.
Agencies contributed to this report.
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