Iran launched hundreds of drones directly from its territory against Israel on Saturday night, in a radical change from its usual use of proxies, the IDF has confirmed. Drones and missiles were also reportedly launched from Yemen and other countries around the region.
Iran has confirmed as well that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has begun its missile and drone attack against Israel.
The IDF said that it is ready to shoot them down, though air defense is not hermetic. Israeli aircraft had reportedly already begun shooting down projectiles as of 12:00 a.m.
Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze UAV over Iraq at very low altitude, heading to Israel. pic.twitter.com/HpWeqXMMep
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 13, 2024
The IDF’s shoot-down capabilities include aircraft, Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow missile system.
In addition, the military can use GPS scrambling to disable certain kinds of attacking drones.
The drone attacks could take hours or more to arrive in Israel while traveling across such potential countries as Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and other areas.
There are concerns that Tehran or its proxies may also fire long-range ballistic missiles and other rockets at Israel in some kind of overlapping wave with the drone attacks.
The Islamic Republic’s attack comes after it accused Israel of killing top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Muhammad Reza Zehidi on April 1, who had directed its proxy attacks on Israel in Lebanon and Syria, including being a top coordinator with Hezbollah.
The IDF declined to publicly commit to a preemptive strike on Iran now that the drones have been launched.
Israeli airspace closes as attack begins
The Israel Airports Authority announced that Israeli airspace would close starting at 12:30 a.m. local time.
Israel’s War Cabinet met on Saturday night to track the situation and approve further action.
Drones spotted over Iraq
Shortly after the Iranian strike began, Iraqi officials announced that Iraqi airspace was being closed.
A number of drones were seen flying from the direction of Iran over Iraq’s Sulaymaniya province, three security sources told Reuters on Saturday.
“Dozens of drones were spotted flying from Iran in the direction of Israel over Iraqi airspace,” two Iraqi security sources also told Reuters.
Jordan’s air defenses were ready to intercept and shoot down any Iranian drones or aircraft that violate its airspace, two regional security sources said.
They said the army was also in a state of high alert and radar systems were monitoring drone activity.
Netanyahu: Whoever harms us, we will harm them
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video message said that “in recent years, and even more so in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran.
He warned Tehran that “whoever harms us, we will harm them. We will protect ourselves from any threat and we will do so with steadfastness and determination.”
“Together we will overcome all our enemies,” he said as he urged Israelis to listen to the Home Front Command directives and thanked Israel’s allies such as the US, France and Great Britain for standing with the Jewish state..
“Our defense systems are deployed. We are prepared for any scenario, both in defense and attack,” Netanyahu said, as he stressed that the IDF, the state and the public were strong.
Biden: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad
The White House said that “US President Joe Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House.”
The White House added that the attack is “likely to unfold over a number of hours.”
“President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran,” stressed the White House.
The Iranian attack came in response to an alleged Israeli airstrike earlier this month that targeted a building next to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus in which Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the IRGC’s commander of operations in Syria and Lebanon was killed, alongside several other senior IRGC personnel.
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