Israel shot down the “vast majority” of drones and missiles shot at them by Iran after the Jewish state was attacked in a vicious Saturday barrage, officials said.
Iran launched some 300 drones and missiles from within the Islamic Republic — as well as from proxies in Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon.
The “vast majority” of the missiles were intercepted outside of Israeli air space, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.
The United States came to Israel’s aid and shot down some 70 drones and three ballistic missiles. Little damage was reported. One Israeli military base suffered minor damage and one child was hurt by drone shrapnel.
Nothing of “value” was hit in Israel, President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CNN reported, citing White House sources.
“We intercepted, we repelled, together we shall win,” Netanyahu posted on X early Sunday.
Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told The Associated Press, meanwhile: “A wide-scale attack by Iran is a major escalation.”
When asked whether Israel would respond, Hagari responded that the army “does and will do whatever is required to protect the security of the state of Israel.”
A few missiles managed to get through Israeli defenses, he said. Israeli emergency officials confirmed that one strike critically wounded a 7-year-old girl in southern Israel.
But there were no casualties as a direct result of the Iranian strike, according to Magen David Adom [MDA], Israel’s emergency service agency.
Earlier, MDA said a 7-year-old girl was severely injured in southern Israel by shrapnel from an interceptor missile during Iran’s attack.
The agency said it responded to 31 people who were injured seeking shelter or suffering from anxiety.
Another missile struck an army base, causing some damage but no injuries were reported, Hagari said.
US military forces shot down an undisclosed number of Iranian drones, according to officials.
“In accordance with our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, US forces in the region continue to shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel,” the official told CNN.
Hours after Iran’s attack, the IDF’s Home Front command told Israelis nationwide no longer need to stay near protected rooms — but that restrictions on gatherings announced earlier would remain in effect, The Times of Israel reported. All educational activities have also been canceled.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations suggested in a statement that the retaliatory strikes may be over — and warned the US to stay out of any engagements between Iran and Israel.
“The matter can be deemed concluded,” the mission said. “However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.
It is Iran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel, and photos emerged Saturday night of Iranians celebrating in Tehran.
The attacks followed weeks of threats from Tehran after the assassination in Damascus of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard general that has been widely blamed on Israel.
Source : https://nypost.com/2024/04/13/world-news/iran-launches-wave-of-drone-attacks-at-israel-report