IRAN YAISHAMBULIA ISRAEL USIKU KUCHA

Iran launches hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel

Iran has launched a major offensive against Israel, sending dozens of drones and missiles toward the Jewish state on Saturday night in a much-anticipated but unprecedented move.

The attacks come "in response to the recent crimes of the Zionist regime," according to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), referring to an attack believed to have been carried out by Israel against the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month. in which two Iranian generals were killed."The regime of evil will be punished," said Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a social media post on platform X, formerly Twitter.

Also read: Iran seizes Israeli ship despite Biden's warning

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that "Israel is strong" in a post on X, shortly after the Israeli military confirmed the Iranian missile strike on Saturday evening.

"The nation of Israel is strong, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is strong, the Israeli people are strong," Netanyahu wrote on X, just four minutes before the military base said Iran had shot down drones.

objects seen in the sky above Jerusalem after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, in Jerusalem on April 14, 2024.

"Together we will stand, and with God's help - together we will defeat all our enemies," he wrote.

in a video message accompanying his post he said: "We have a clear principle: whoever attacks us, we will attack them."

Enmity between Iran and Israel and the war in Gaza

Israel and Iran have been enemies since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Decades-old tensions between the two countries have escalated following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October.

Also read: Israel on high alert following Iran's threat

Israel has closed its airspace at night in response to Iran's attack, the country's media reported, citing the civil aviation authority. Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon were also reported to close their airspace according to government officials and the media.

"We are closely monitoring Iranian killing planes that are on their way to Israel," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said. "This is a serious and dangerous escalation."

Iran has attacked Israel with drones and missiles on the night of Saturday, April 13, 2024.

he said Israel's defensive and offensive capabilities are at "the highest level of readiness before this major attack from Iran."

previously, Israel issued guidelines to the public, advising them to stay close to homes and limit the number of people who could congregate in certain areas, depending on the level of danger. School and education activities were also suspended ahead of the two-week Easter holiday from Sunday.

Israel was ready

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said earlier that the nation was prepared. ."In recent days we have strengthened our defense and attack systems and we are determined to take any necessary measures to protect the citizens of the nation of Israel," he said according to his office.

he told the people to follow the instructions issued by the army and the internal security department issued on Saturday evening, which came into effect at 5:00 p.m. and continued for 48 hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with his military council in Kirya, Tel Aviv, after Iran launched an attack against Israel.

Biden meets with his security advisers

in Washington, President Joe Biden ended a weekend trip to his beach house in Delaware and returned to the White House. He was expected to convene a meeting of National Security Council chiefs on Saturday to discuss the attack, the White House said.

The United States has been Israel's strongest ally and its largest military sponsor.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak "strongly" condemned Iran's "reckless" attack on Israel.

he said Britain "will continue to defend the security of Israel and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq." Britain and its allies were "working quickly to bring stability," he said.

The attack was expected and the US and Israel had sent additional troops to the area.

Iran has launched Shahed missiles and drones towards Israel.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured Gallant of "unwavering U.S. support" in a phone conversation due to "serious regional threats," according to U.S. Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder.

austin said Israel can "rely on the full support of the United States" against any attack by Iran and its allies.

Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, appealed to all Germans in Israel, describing what he called an "unprecedented direct attack."

Also read: An Israeli youth was found dead in the West Bank

images shared by Iran's state news agency IRNA and Tasnim news agency, which is considered an arm of the Revolutionary Army, showed commandos shouting from a military helicopter onto the ship's deck. the ship was heading to Iranian waters after it was intercepted, according to IRNA.

Israel accuses Iran of nuclear

Passenger planes at the same time were avoiding passing through Iran in the middle of a high-risk situation.

The Dutch airline, KLM and the Australian airline Qantas, said they have changed their routes to avoid flying in dangerous airspace.

KLM said its planes will no longer fly in the airspace of Iran and most of Israel from now on, as a precautionary measure," reported Dutch news agency ANP.