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The Israeli military on Sunday launched more than 300 missiles and drones launched by Iran with the support of the United States and other allies as part of retaliation for an Israeli missile attack that killed an Iranian military commander in Syria earlier this month. announced that it had been shot down.
Israel and Iran have been engaged in a so-called “shadow war” for years, with Iran using armed groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis to target Israel and carry out targeted assassinations inside Iran. It’s here. However, the attack was the first time Iran has directly targeted Israel from its own territory, highlighting the risk that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could spill over into a broader regional conflict.
Israeli officials have so far not said whether Israel would respond to an Iranian attack. Israel’s war cabinet was scheduled to meet at 3:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. ET) to discuss next steps.
summaryIran launches dozens of drones and missiles towards Israel
Developmental status:
“99% of threats launched against Israeli territory have been thwarted,” Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a briefing on Sunday. Hagari said that of the more than 120 ballistic missiles launched by Iran, a small number had penetrated the Israeli border. The rest were shot down. He said an Israeli air force base in southern Israel suffered “minor damage to infrastructure.” At least one child was injured.
■ U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the U.S. military has intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. “Our military remains poised to protect U.S. forces and partners in the region, further support the defense of Israel, and enhance regional stability,” Austin said in his statement.
■ President Joe Biden said in a statement that he will meet virtually with G7 leaders on Sunday to “coordinate a unified diplomatic response” to the Iranian attack. Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel had shown a “remarkable ability” to defend itself from Iranian attack.
■ Israel’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called for the Security Council to meet immediately, condemn Iran’s attack, and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The United States is included as a permanent member of the Security Council, which is made up of 15 countries. Neither Israel nor Iran are current members. The Legislature was scheduled to convene at 4 p.m. ET, according to a schedule released late Saturday.
Iran warns Israel not to respond to attack
Iranian military commander Major General Mohammad Bagheri said: He told Iranian state television on Sunday that if Israel retaliated, Iran’s response would be “much larger” than a nighttime drone or missile attack.
Bagheri also warned that if the US supports Israeli retaliation, US military bases will be targeted.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a separate statement that “any new Israeli adventure will be met with a heavier and more disappointing response.”
Iran’s attack on Israel: How did we get here?
Israel was behind the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, killing seven people, including two senior military commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. was not recognized. Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brig. Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi.
But Israel has carried out dozens, if not hundreds, of attacks. In recent years, groups affiliated with Iran have been active in Syria and other areas. Cross-border attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria have intensified since Israel launched a war in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran severed all diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel.
Israeli airspace reopens after attack
Israel reopened its airspace on Sunday after Iranian attacks closed it and caused flight cancellations. Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan also said their airspace had been reopened to commercial traffic.
El Al Airlines is Israel’s flag carrier airline. Flights have resumed, but many flights have been delayed or canceled.
Iran’s main airports have canceled all flights until Monday, Iranian state media said.
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Hamas says Iran had a ‘natural right’ to attack Israel
Iran’s ally Hamas It fought with Israel in the Gaza Strip for more than six months, defending against drone and missile attacks on Israel.
In a statement obtained by Hamas, Hamas said: “We, Hamas, believe that military operations by the Islamic Republic of Iran are its natural right, and that military operations by the Islamic Republic of Iran are a natural right, and that the military operation by the Islamic Republic of Iran is a natural right. I think this is a natural response.” According to Reuters.
Hamas on Saturday rejected a new ceasefire offer from Israel, which seeks to secure the return of hostages it captured in the Oct. 7 attack.
US Embassy lifts “shelter-in-place” order
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has lifted its “shelter-in-place” order for American workers. “The threat of barrage from drones and missiles has decreased,” the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
The embassy did not lift general travel restrictions within Israel for staff and their families, and reiterated that personal travel is limited to and between Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beersheba.
Schools across Israel remain closed.
Iran attacked Israel. What happened now?
Biden said he would help “coordinate a unified diplomatic response” to the Iranian attack and reaffirmed “America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”
“We helped Israel shoot down almost all of the incoming drones and missiles,” he said.
World leaders and officials from China to Britain have expressed alarm following Iran’s attack on Israel, calling on both Israel and Iran to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation.
“The EU strongly condemns the unacceptable Iranian attack on Israel,” the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said in a post. Social platform. “This is an unprecedented escalation and a serious threat to regional security.”
Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Kassauneh said any escalation would lead to a “dangerous path”.
Jonathan Panikov, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council think tank, said in a blog commentary that “Iran’s launch of ballistic missiles in conjunction with more than 100 drones threatens to threaten the region with broader wars.” “It is almost impossible to do so,” he said. One of them is what they actually seem to want, and what most parties – the United States, Arab countries, and even Hezbollah – have been trying to avoid for the past six months. ”
Panikov added: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will, at best, take steps to attack Iranian targets in a concrete and contained manner that does not lead to a new and significant Iranian response. That’s almost certain,” he added. In the worst-case scenario, Israel’s response would be violent and include shelling key Iranian locations. ”
Contributor: Tom Vanden Broek
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