Sirens and blasts sound across Israel after Iran launches drone attack

Iran
launched
a
swarm
of
explosive
drones
and
fired
missiles
at
Israel
late
on
Saturday
in
its
first-ever
direct
attack
on
Israeli
territory,
risking
a
major
escalation
as
the
United
States
pledged
“ironclad”
backing
for
Israel.

Sirens
wailed
and
Reuters
journalists
in
Israel
said
they
heard
distant
heavy
thuds
and
bangs
from
what
local
media
called
aerial
interceptions
of
explosive
drones.
The
ambulance
service
said
there
was
no
immediate
word
of
casualties.

Israel’s
military
said
more
than
100
drones
were
launched
from
Iran,
with
security
sources
in
Iraq
and
Jordan
reporting
dozens
seen
flying
overhead
and
U.S.
officials
saying
the
U.S.
military
had
shot
some
down.

Israel’s
Channel
12
TV
cited
an
unnamed
Israeli
official
as
saying
there
would
be
a
“significant
response”
to
the
attack.

Iran’s
state
news
agency
cited
a
source
saying
its
military
had
also
launched
a
wave
of
ballistic
missiles.
Israel’s
military
also
said
missiles
were
fired,
but
there
was
no
immediate
report
of
these
striking
in
Israel.

Iran
has
vowed
retaliation
for
what
it
called
an
Israeli
strike
on
its
Damascus
consulate
on
April
1
that
killed
seven
Guards
officers
including
two
senior
commanders
and
said
its
strike
was
a
punishment
for
“Israeli
crimes”.
Israel
has
neither
confirmed
nor
denied
responsibility
for
the
consulate
attack.

“Should
the
Israeli
regime
make
another
mistake,
Iran’s
response
will
be
considerably
more
severe,”
the
Iranian
mission
to
the
United
Nations
said,
warning
the
U.S.
to
“stay
away”.
However,
it
also
said
Iran
now
“deemed
the
matter
concluded”.

U.S.
President
Joe
Biden,
who
on
Friday
had
warned
Iran
against
an
attack,
cut
short
a
visit
to
his
home
state
of
Delaware
to
meet
national
security
advisers
in
the
White
House
Situation
Room,
an
official
said.
He
pledged
to
stand
with
Israel.

The
Gaza
war
between
Israel
and
Hamas,
now
in
its
seventh
month,
has
driven
up
tensions
in
the
region,
spreading
to
fronts
with
Lebanon
and
Syria
and
drawing
long-range
fire
at
Israeli
targets
from
as
far
away
as
Yemen
and
Iraq.

British
maritime
security
company
Ambrey
said
in
a
statement
that
drones
were
also
reportedly
launched
against
Israel
by
Yemen’s
Iran-aligned
Houthi
group.

Those
clashes
now
threaten
to
morph
into
a
direct
open
conflict
pitting
Iran
and
its
regional
allies
against
Israel
and
its
main
supporter
the
United
States,
with
regional
power
Egypt
urging
“utmost
restraint”.

U.S.
and
British
warplanes
were
involved
in
shooting
down
some
Israel-bound
drones
over
the
Iraq-Syria
border
area,
Channel
12
reported.
Three
U.S.
officials
said
the
U.S.
military
had
shot
down
drone
aircraft
without
saying
how
many.

“This
is
a
severe
and
dangerous
escalation.
Our
defensive
and
offensive
capabilities
are
at
the
highest
level
of
readiness
ahead
of
this
large-scale
attack
from
Iran,”
said
Israel’s
military
spokesperson
Rear
Admiral
Daniel
Hagari.

Israeli
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu,
whose
official
jet
took
off
shortly
after
the
attack
began,
convened
the
war
cabinet
at
a
military
headquarters
in
Tel
Aviv,
his
office
said.

Israel’s
military
said
sirens
would
sound
in
any
threatened
areas
and
that
its
defenses
were
poised
to
deal
with
the
drones,
which
it
said
were
“explosive.”

“We
are
used
to
having
around
20
seconds
to
get
to
shelters
when
missiles
come
in.
Here,
the
warning
comes
hours
ahead
of
time.
It
naturally
raises
the
anxiety
level
among
the
Israeli
public,”
said
Nir
Dvori,
a
Channel
12
TV
correspondent
on
social
media.

Israel’s
military
told
residents
of
the
Israeli-occupied
Golan
Heights
to
stay
close
to
bomb
shelters,
putting
the
area
on
standby
for
possible
impact
from
drone
strikes.

Israel
and
Lebanon
said
they
were
closing
their
airspace
on
Saturday
night.
Jordan,
which
lies
between
Iran
and
Israel,
had
readied
air
defenses
to
intercept
any
drone
or
missile
that
violated
its
territory,
two
regional
security
sources
said.

Residents
in
several
Jordanian
cities
said
they
heard
heavy
aerial
activity.

Syria,
an
ally
of
Iran,
said
it
was
putting
its
ground-to-air
defense
systems
around
the
capital
and
major
bases
on
high
alert,
army
sources
there
said.

The
European
Union,
Britain,
France,
Mexico,
Czechia,
Denmark,
Norway
and
the
Netherlands
all
condemned
Iran’s
attack.

Israel
has
been
bracing
for
an
Iranian
response
to
the
Damascus
consulate
strike
since
last
week,
when
Iran’s
Supreme
Leader
Ayatollah
Ali
Khamenei
said
Israel
“must
be
punished
and
shall
be”
for
an
operation
he
called
equivalent
to
one
on
Iranian
soil.

Biden
said
on
Friday
that
his
only
message
to
Iran
was
“Don’t”,
but
added
that
“we
are
devoted
to
the
defense
of
Israel.”

Iran’s
main
ally
in
the
region,
the
Lebanese
Shi’ite
group
Hezbollah
has
been
exchanging
fire
with
Israel
since
the
Gaza
war
began
on
Oct.
7,
said
early
on
Sunday
it
had
fired
rockets
at
an
Israeli
base.

Earlier
on
Saturday,
Iran’s
state-run
IRNA
news
agency
reported
that
a
Guards
helicopter
had
boarded
and
taken
into
Iranian
waters
the
Portuguese-flagged
MSC
Aries.

MSC,
which
operates
the
Aries,
confirmed
Iran
had
seized
the
ship
and
said
it
was
working
“with
the
relevant
authorities”
for
its
safe
return
and
the
wellbeing
of
its
25
crew.

MSC
leases
the
Aries
from
Gortal
Shipping,
an
affiliate
of
Zodiac
Maritime,
Zodiac
said
in
a
statement,
adding
that
MSC
is
responsible
for
all
the
vessel’s
activities.
Zodiac
is
partly
owned
by
Israeli
businessman
Eyal
Ofer.

Israeli
Foreign
Minister
Israel
Katz
accused
Iran
of
piracy.