“Declaration of War’ as Iran’s 350-missile attack on Israel
ISRAEL – Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles on Israel in an unprecedented attack late Saturday night, the Israeli army announced, in a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes. Iran’s proxies and allies also carried out coordinated attacks on Israeli positions as sirens sounded in many places and correspondents heard blasts in the skies above Jerusalem early into Sunday morning.
Iran had repeatedly threatened to strike Israel in retaliation for a deadly April 1 air strike on its Damascus consular annexe and Washington had warned repeatedly in recent days that the reprisals were imminent. “Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
“We are working in close cooperation with the United States and our partners in the region in order to act against the launches and intercept them,” Rear Admiral Hagari said.
People in Jerusalem sought cover, as residents also stockpiled water. US President Joe Biden vowed Washington’s “ironclad” support for Israel after an urgent meeting with his top security officials on the spiralling crisis.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed a drone and missile attack was launched against Israel in retaliation for the Damascus strike which killed seven Guards, two of them generals. The Guards said its ballistic missiles were fired almost an hour after the slower moving drones.
Hundreds of Iranians gathered in Tehran’s Palestine Square waving Iranian and Palestinian flags to celebrate the unprecedented military action against Israel.
The Israeli army said Iran had launched a “massive swarm of over 300 killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. So far, we’ve intercepted the vast majority of incoming missiles,” Hagari said. The army said it had scrambled dozens of fighter jets to intercept “all aerial threats”.
Iran’s allies in the region joined the attack with Yemen’s Huthi rebels also launching drones at Israel, according to security agency Ambrey, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement announcing rocket fire at Israeli positions in the annexed Golan Heights. The official IRNA news agency said the attack had dealt “heavy blows” to an air base in the Negev desert, but the Israeli army said there had only been minor damage.