Iran Attacks Israel

From the Times of Israel:

“Iran launches over 100 drones at Israel in first-ever direct attack; IDF braces to intercept”

Israel said Saturday night that Iran had launched a large wave of attack drones from its territory toward the Jewish state and that the military was tracking and preparing to intercept them, in the first-ever direct attack on Israel by the Islamic Republic. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari first confirmed at 11 p.m. that the attack, anticipated for several days, had begun. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later confirmed it had launched dozens of drones and missiles against specific targets in Israel, Iranian state media quoted a statement by the elite force as saying.

Israel assessed that over 100 drones had been launched. The Israeli Air Force was tracking the drones and was preparing for additional waves of attacks, which may also include missiles. The drones currently being tracked were expected to reach the country within hours, though the Israel Defense Forces will work to intercept them at an earlier stage. Other threats, including ballistic missiles or cruise missiles, will take less time to reach Israel, and the IDF said it would update accordingly. The incoming attack led Jordan and Iraq to shut down their airspace for a period of several hours, and Israel too announced that its airspace would shutter as of Sunday at 12:30 a.m. until an unspecified time, leading to various flight cancellations.

Israel’s prime minister and top defense leaders were set to hold a security assessment at military headquarters in Tel Aviv shortly after midnight. In a press statement, Hagari said the Air Force was tracking the drones, while noting that they would take several hours to reach the country. He said there would be GPS disruptions as the military works to intercept the drones. “The defense and offense systems of the Israeli Air Force are on alert, and dozens of planes are in the skies — prepared and ready,” said Hagari, adding: “We have an excellent aerial defense array, but the defense is not hermetic.” If there are any additional attacks, that require a separate warning, Hagari said the IDF will update the public.

Sirens will only sound if the drones enter Israeli airspace, at the relevant locations, Hagari said. He added that the IDF will seek to intercept the targets as early as possible. Channel 12 said the US was the first to identify the launch and immediately notified Israel, leading to a flurry of activity in recent hours in Israel and its surroundings that led to widespread public assessment that an attack was imminent.

State-linked media in Iran reported that a second wave of drones had been launched at Israel. Two security sources in Iraq said dozens of drones had been spotted flying from Iran toward Israel over Iraqi airspace in what Iranian Press TV called “extensive drone strikes” by the Revolutionary Guards. Channel 12 aired video from Iraq that purported to show a wave of drones passing overhead in the night sky. Several such videos were shared on social media. 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. Earlier in the evening, presaging the attack, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden would cut short a weekend trip to Delaware to hold consultations with his national security team on the potential Iranian strike on Israel.

Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, called his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant for the second time in three days to discuss US support for Israel’s defense, the Pentagon said. “Secretary Austin made clear that Israel could count on full US support to defend Israel against any attacks by Iran and its regional proxies,” read the statement.

Before the incoming attack was confirmed, the IDF’s Home Command issued new guidelines shuttering all schools and educational activity the next day — action that would not affect most schoolchildren, who started their vacation ahead of the Passover holiday at the weekend. In addition to the closure of educational facilities, the military announced it would be forbidden for more than 1,000 people to assemble outdoors.

Tensions between Israel and Iran had reached a new high in recent days as the Islamic Republic vowed to avenge seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two generals, who were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a building near Tehran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1. Defense Minister Gallant said in a video statement that Israel had “added new capabilities, on land, in the air, at sea, in intelligence, within the State of Israel, and together with our partners, led by the US,” in preparation for attacks from the “terror state” Iran. Citing unnamed sources, CNN reported Saturday that the US expected Iran to target multiple sites inside Israel and in the region in the coming days, with one of the sources cited as saying that the US had observed Iran preparing as many as 100 cruise missiles to strike Israel. A senior US administration official told CNN that Iran’s proxies could be involved in the attack as well. Also citing unnamed sources, Channel 12 reported that by the Israeli security establishment’s estimation, Iran would strike military rather than civilian targets.

On Saturday morning, the IRGC seized a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, at least partially Israel-owned, near the Strait of Hormuz Following the incident, Foreign Minister Israel Katz called “on the European Union and the free world” to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization and slap sanctions on Iran. “The Ayatollah regime of [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’s crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” said Katz. Several international entities have made adjustments to regular business amid the expected Iranian attacks.

Australia’s Qantas and Germany’s Lufthansa airlines on Saturday announced they would reroute flights in the Middle East, with the German airline saying it would avoid Iranian airspace altogether until Tuesday. Canada on Saturday warned its citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, as Ottawa upgraded its risk assessment in the region. The Netherlands announced it would keep its embassy in Tehran closed on Sunday, and would decide then whether or not to reopen on Monday.

^ Iran is supported by all the bad guys (Russia, Syria, North Korea, etc.) and Israel is supported by all the good guys (the US, the UK, etc.)

Hopefully the US Congress will do what is right and give the required Aid to both Israel and Ukraine.

To those that don't think Israel and Ukraine are connected.

Iran gives drones (like the ones Iran is now firing against Israel) to Russia so Russia can bomb Ukraine. ^

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-launches-wave-of-drones-at-israel-in-first-ever-direct-attack-idf-braces-to-intercept/