Iran attacks Israel with dozens of drones and missiles

Iran launched its anticipated attack on Israel on Saturday evening, in response to the bombing of its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus in early April, by launching dozens of drones and missiles towards the Israeli interior.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army and air force are prepared for expected Iranian threats, he said.

He added that the army will try to prevent the Iranian marches from reaching Israel and will deal with them as soon as they arrive, "but we warn that the defense will not be 100%."

ABC quoted a senior U.S. official as saying he believed Iran would launch between 400 and 500 drones and missiles at Israel.

CNN also reported that an Israeli military official said he expects Iran to launch additional waves of marches over time.

The US news network also said that President Joe Biden is now meeting with his national security team in the White House Situation Room.

Iranian declaration

Meanwhile, Iranian television reported shortly before midnight that the Revolutionary Guard's attack began with marches against targets in the occupied territories, it said.

The IRGC said it carried out an operation with drones and missiles "in response to the Zionist entity's crime of bombing our consulate in Syria."

"The operation was carried out with dozens of rockets and drones to hit specific targets in the occupied territories," he said.

The White House confirmed that Iran had begun an aerial attack on Israel, while a National Security Council spokeswoman said the Iranian attack was likely to last several hours.

"The evil regime will be punished," the official account of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei posted, referring to Israel.

Israel's Channel 12 said that Iran's missiles are expected to start reaching their targets at 2 a.m. tonight if they don't fall, and that the IDF is now carrying out a large-scale attack in the heart of Lebanon.

Netanyahu's statements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will protect itself from any threat, and will do so with calm and determination, he said.

Netanyahu added that "Israel is strong, its army is strong, its people are strong, and whoever hurts us, we hurt them," emphasizing that "Israel is prepared for any direct targeting from Iran."

"Our defense systems are deployed, and we are prepared for any scenario, whether on defense or offense," he said.

Alertness

Several countries in the region, including Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, have closed their airspace to civilian flights, and military sources said Syria has placed Russian-made Pantsir surface-to-air defense systems around the capital Damascus and key bases on high alert in anticipation of an Israeli strike.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies