By Dan Williams and Parisa Hafezi
JERUSALEM/DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel late on Saturday in its first-ever converse attack on Israeli territory, risking a well-known escalation as the US pledged “ironclad” backing for Israel.
Sirens wailed and Reuters journalists in Israel said they heard some distance-off heavy thuds and bangs from what local media called aerial interceptions of explosive drones. Authorities said a 7-yr-historical lady used to be critically injured.
Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Iran launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, most of which had been intercepted exterior Israeli borders. They included bigger than 10 cruise missiles, he said.
The Iranian salvo amounted to bigger than 200 drones and missiles prior to now, Hagari said, and had brought on gentle bother to one Israeli military facility.
The Israeli military said later that it used to be no longer advising any residents to prepare to take shelter, revising an earlier alert in what regarded to signal the discontinue of the possibility.
Israel’s Channel 12 TV cited an unnamed Israeli legitimate as asserting there would be a “well-known response” to the attack.
Iran had vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Guards officers collectively with two senior commanders and said its strike used to be a punishment for “Israeli crimes”. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied accountability for the consulate attack.
“Must indifferent the Israeli regime compose one other mistake, Iran’s response shall be considerably more severe,” the Iranian mission to the United Countries said, warning the U.S. to “live away”. Alternatively, it furthermore said Iran now “deemed the subject concluded”.
United Countries Secretary-Same old Antonio Guterres condemned Iran’s attack, asserting he used to be “deeply alarmed about the very right possibility of a devastating say-broad escalation.”
The U.N. Security Council objectives to meet at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on Sunday, a diplomat said on situation of anonymity, after Israel requested it condemn Iran’s attack and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who on Friday had warned Iran in opposition to an attack, lower instant a weekend discuss over with to his dwelling say of Delaware. He returned to Washington and met nationwide security advisers, collectively with his secretaries of defence and say, in the White Apartment Topic Room. He pledged to stand with Israel.
“Our commitment to Israel’s security in opposition to threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” he said on X after the meeting.
The Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, now in its seventh month, has ratcheted up tensions in the say, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria and drawing long-differ fire at Israeli targets from as some distance-off as Yemen and Iraq.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said in a press launch that drones had been furthermore reportedly launched in opposition to Israel by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi neighborhood.
These clashes now threaten to morph proper into a without lengthen start warfare pitting Iran and its regional allies in opposition to Israel and its predominant supporter, the US. Regional energy Egypt entreated “utmost restraint”.
While Israel and Iran had been bitter foes for a protracted time, their long feud has mostly unfolded by proxy forces or by focusing on every other’s forces working in third countries.
U.S. and British warplanes had been excited by shooting down some Israel-lumber drones over the Iraq-Syria border dwelling, Channel 12 reported. Two U.S. officials said the U.S. military had shot down dozens of drone plane headed for Israel.
ESCALATION
Israeli High Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose legitimate jet took off quickly after the attack started, convened the war cupboard at a military headquarters in Tel Aviv, his space of commercial said.
Israel and Lebanon said they had been closing their airspace on Saturday night. Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defences to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, two regional security sources said.
Residents in numerous Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial exercise.
Syria, an ally of Iran, said it used to be striking its ground-to-air defence programs across the capital and predominant bases on high alert, military sources there said.
The European Union, Britain, France, Mexico, Czechia, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands all condemned Iran’s attack.
Israel had been bracing for an Iranian response to the Damascus consulate strike since final week, when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “ought to be punished and shall be” for an operation he called equal to one on Iranian soil.
Iran’s predominant ally in the say, the Lebanese Shi’ite neighborhood Hezbollah that has been exchanging fire with Israel for the reason that Gaza war started on Oct. 7, said early on Sunday it had fired rockets at an Israeli unfriendly.
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