Iran launched armed drones and missiles against Israel, marking a new and more volatile phase of the Middle East conflict. The attack, in retaliation for a strike in Syria that killed top Iranian military officers, marked the first time Iran has struck Israel from its soil.<\/p>\n
Most of the more than 200 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones fired by Iran were intercepted with the help of Israel\u2019s allies before landing, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said early Sunday. He said the only impacts were a 10-year-old girl who was badly injured and minor damage to an army base. Hagari earlier called the attack from Iran \u201ca severe and dangerous escalation.\u201d <\/p>\n
U.S. President Joe Biden returned to the White House from his private residence in Delaware. \u201cI just met with my national security team for an update on Iran\u2019s attacks against Israel,\u201d Biden said in a posting on X, formerly Twitter. \u201cOur commitment to Israel\u2019s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.\u201d <\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s mission to the United Nations said the action was a \u201clegitimate\u201d defensive response to the strike in Damascus \u2014 which Israel hasn\u2019t acknowledged carrying out \u2014 and suggested it was a warning. It also warned the U.S. to stay away from the conflict. \u201cThe matter can be deemed concluded,\u201d the Iranian mission said in a social media post. \u201cHowever, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran\u2019s response will be considerably more severe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Multiple alarms sounded in various locations in Israel: Jerusalem, Beer Sheva and Dimona in the south, and the Jewish settlement Ariel in the West Bank. Residents of Jerusalem reported hearing blasts. Alarms also sounded in Israel\u2019s north. The Israel Defense Forces said it cut off GPS services in some areas to help counter the attack.<\/p>\n
A U.S. defense official confirmed that its forces in the region shot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel. The U.K. Defense Ministry said it deployed Royal Air Force jets to intercept Iranian drones headed for Israel if necessary. <\/p>\n
Israel has upgraded its air defenses considerably over the past decade and a half, adding new systems for interceptions of ballistic missiles fired from as far away as 2,400 kilometers (1,491 miles.) That range includes Yemen, Syria and Iraq, where militant groups allied with Iran are based, as well as Iran.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s most active and well-known air defense is Iron Dome, which has intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2011. But Iron Dome is designed for missiles and drones with a short range, and is just one of the advanced missile-defense systems in place. <\/p>\n
Israel also has a medium-to-long-range interceptor known as David\u2019s Sling and the Arrow defense system, which developers say can intercept missiles fired from as far away as 2,400 kilometers.<\/p>\n
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was among the first leaders to respond to Iran\u2019s attack. \u201cThe U.K. will continue to stand up for Israel\u2019s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq,\u201d Sunak said in a statement. France, Germany and the European Union also condemned Iran\u2019s action. <\/p>\n
So did United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called for an immediate halt to the hostilities, citing the risk of a \u201cdevastating region-wide escalation.\u201d Israel asked for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.<\/p>\n
The assault escalates a Middle East conflict that began on Oct. 7 when thousands of Hamas operatives broke into Israel from Gaza, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 250. A direct clash between Iran and Israel would likely draw in the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, and heighten the possibility of a regional war. <\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly warned Israel will be \u201cpunished\u201d for the deadly strike in Damascus on April 1, which destroyed the Islamic Republic\u2019s consulate building and killed at least 13 people, including seven Iranian military personnel. Israel hasn\u2019t claimed responsibility for the attack, in keeping with its usual response to accusations of targeting Iran.<\/p>\n
Recent history suggests any assault will be measured against what might come next from Iran\u2019s adversaries. When the U.S. killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassem Soleimani in 2020, for example, Iran opted for nonlethal attacks on military bases.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials have said that if their country were hit, Iran\u2019s leaders should expect a counterattack, although Israel may weigh what it portrayed as the failure of the Iranian assault in choosing its response. <\/p>\n
Iran has tried to be circumspect on its role in hostile acts by allied militant groups beyond its borders. That policy became more difficult after Hamas attacked Israel, touching off an extended war in Gaza. Houthi rebels in Yemen used that as a pretext for missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, while Hezbollah has exchanged fire across the border with Israel almost daily since the incursion.<\/p>\n
(Ethan Bronner, Augusta Saraiva, Galit Altstein, Alex Wickham and Justin Sink contributed to this report.)<\/p>\n
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