Iran launched around a hundred drones against Israel on Saturday, a military official said, almost two weeks after a raid on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, an attack that raised fears of an explosion in the Middle East.
This is the first direct attack ever carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the territory of Israel, its sworn enemy.
At the same time, Iran’s allies, Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthi rebels, have carried out anti-Israeli attacks, the former firing rockets into the Israeli-occupied Golan and the latter launching drones towards Israeli territory.
The Israeli military said Iranian drones would take “hours” to reach Israel.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, announced that they had launched both drones and missiles towards Israel, in particular in response to the strike on 1er April which destroyed its consulate in Damascus and cost the lives of two senior officers of the Guardians.
Iran has accused Israel, but the latter has neither confirmed nor denied it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose army is engaged in a war in Gaza, immediately after the Iranian attack brought together his staff and his close collaborators in a bunkered room in an undisclosed location, according to his services.
Historical allies of Israel, the United States indicated that they will “stand alongside the people of Israel”, after announcing on Friday the sending of reinforcements to the region.
Washington shot down drones fired from Iran and targeting Israel, American media said Saturday evening, citing unnamed officials.
The United States anti-aircraft defense intercepted several drones fired by Iran, the television channels CNN and ABC reported in particular, without specifying the number of machines shot down and over which territories these operations took place.
“Killer drones”
“Iran launched drones from its territory towards Israel,” Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army spokesman, said in a televised address shortly after 11 p.m.
“We are closely monitoring the killer drones sent by Iran and en route to Israel,” Rear Admiral Hagari said. “We are working closely with the United States and our partners to counter and intercept launches. »
This “direct attack launched from Iranian soil” is a “serious and dangerous escalation,” he said.
Other “drone waves” targeting Israel are possible, a military official warned.
Following the Iranian attack, Israel closed its airspace at 12:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
He had already announced the closure of schools on Sunday, the first day of the week in Israel, and Monday, as well as the suspension of “teaching activities, travel and outings” during school and extracurricular activities.
“Devilish diet”
“In response to the numerous crimes committed by the Zionist regime, including the attack on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus and the martyrdom of a group of our country’s military commanders and advisors in Syria, the IDF Revolutionary Guards air force fired dozens of missiles and drones at specific targets inside the occupied territories [par Israël] “, state television quoted the Guardians as saying.
In the minutes following the start of the operation, called “honest promise”, the X account of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reposted a message stating: “the evil regime will be punished”.
Jordan and Lebanon, Israel’s neighbors, have announced the closure of their airspace, as has Iraq, which borders Iran. Also neighboring Israel, Egypt announced the placing of its air defenses on maximum alert.
Paris and London condemned the Iranian attack.
War in Gaza
Earlier on Saturday, Revolutionary Guard maritime special forces seized a ship accused of being “linked” to Israel, with 25 crew members on board, in Gulf waters.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, which does not recognize the existence of Israel, is an ally of Hamas. The Palestinian movement is the author of the unprecedented attack on Israeli soil which provoked a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza, where 33,686 people, mainly civilians, died, according to the authorities.
The Israeli army continued its war in the Gaza Strip, which it has been besieging since October 9, and where the majority of the 2.4 million inhabitants are threatened with famine according to the UN.
In the past 24 hours, 52 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry of Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007 and is classified as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an attack in southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a report established by AFP based on official Israeli data. .
More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain detained in Gaza, including 34 who have died, according to Israeli officials.