Updated on April 13, 2024 at 11:11pm ET.
Air raid sirens rang throughout Israel and the occupied West Bank early Sunday after Iran fired dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in an assault that marked a serious escalation of the battle within the Middle East. Ta.
President Joe Biden stated in Washington that the U.S. army had helped shoot down “practically all” of Israel’s drones and missiles and promised to convene allies to develop a unified response.
Israeli army spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari stated Iran fired greater than 300 projectiles at Israel in a single day, and the “overwhelming majority” of them, 99%, had been shot down. Authorities reported gentle harm to a army base in southern Israel and one 10-year-old youngster injured and in essential situation.
“We will do no matter it takes to guard the state of Israel,” Hagari stated. He added that a number of the launches got here from Iraq and Yemen.
Israel’s War Cabinet was scheduled to satisfy throughout lunch. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in an announcement Sunday that the United States is “not searching for an escalation” of the battle.
G7 leaders will meet Sunday afternoon to coordinate a diplomatic response to the Iranian assault and coordinate with officers from throughout the Middle East. The UN Security Council assembly can be scheduled to happen after Israel known as on the Security Council to sentence Iran’s assault and designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.
Earlier this month, Iran vowed to retaliate after an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria killed seven Iranian army personnel. According to Israeli officers, that is the primary time Iran has launched an assault on Israel from Iranian territory.
According to US protection officers, US forces within the space had been lively in capturing down the drone. Interceptions by Israeli anti-missile protection methods then lit up the skies over populated areas together with Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, reported {that a} 10-year-old youngster was hit within the head by shrapnel within the space of Arad, a city close to the southwestern tip of the Dead Sea. The service stated emergency staff additionally handled about 20 individuals who suffered from anxiousness or minor accidents in the course of the evacuation.
Saturday’s assaults, first introduced by Israeli authorities round 4 p.m. ET, had been carried out in waves and took a number of hours to succeed in Israel, officers stated.
In an announcement broadcast on Iranian state tv, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps known as the assault a “large-scale army operation” in opposition to a number of targets in Israel.
Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations stated in a publish on social media website
“If Israel retaliates in opposition to Iran, our response can be a lot bigger than tonight’s army motion,” Army Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri advised state tv, including that Iran helps Israel’s retaliation. He added that the Iranian authorities had warned the US that US army bases can be focused if it did so.
A senior US protection official stated the US army was straight concerned within the response. “In accordance with our nation’s unwavering dedication to Israel’s safety, U.S. forces within the area proceed to shoot down Iranian-launched drones concentrating on Israel. Our army will present further protection assist and proceed to function within the area. We stay ready to guard U.S. forces,” the official stated. .
Israelis urged to evacuate
/AFPTV/AFP (by way of Getty Images)
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AFPTV/AFP (by way of Getty Images)
This video from AFPTV, taken on Sunday, reveals explosions lighting up the sky over Jerusalem throughout Iran’s assault on Israel.
Israeli authorities had issued a clarion name to residents of Nevatim, Dimona and Eilat, three cities in Israel’s Negev desert area, and residents of the occupied northern Golan Heights to evacuate. A significant Israeli air power base is positioned close to Nevatim, and Israel’s nuclear analysis facility is positioned in Dimona.
Airspace over Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon was closed late Saturday, and a few airways introduced the cancellation of some flights and rerouting others due to the assault. Israel and Jordan reopened their airspace Sunday morning.
Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah introduced it launched an assault of its personal early Sunday, firing dozens of rockets at Israeli army bases within the Golan Heights.
In an deal with to the Israeli public on Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his nation was prepared for “all eventualities, each defensively and offensively.”
“We have selected clear ideas: whoever harms us, we are going to hurt them. We will defend ourselves in opposition to any risk and can accomplish that calmly and with dedication,” Netanyahu stated.
President Biden watched the assault from the Situation Room together with prime protection and international affairs officers. Anticipating the assault, he had reduce brief a visit to Delaware to return to the White House.
Later, he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stated Israel had “demonstrated its outstanding skill to defend and defeat even unprecedented assaults, sending a transparent message to its adversaries that they can’t successfully threaten Israel’s safety.” Ta.
“At my course, the U.S. army moved plane and a ballistic missile protection destroyer into the area final week to assist the protection of Israel,” the president stated. “Thanks to those deployments and the extraordinary ability of our army personnel, we helped Israel shoot down practically all incoming drones and missiles.”
Iran blames Israel for earlier assault on consulate
Majid Saidi/Getty Images
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Getty Images
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei will give a speech in Tehran, Iran, on March 1st. He adopted the assault on the Iranian consulate in Syria and vowed that Iran would reply.
The assault on Israel got here 4 days after Iranian chief Ayatollah Khamenei vowed revenge for the April 1 assault on the Iranian consulate within the Syrian capital Damascus. Iran stated the assault killed seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, together with two generals, and that Israel was liable for the assault. Israel has neither admitted nor denied being behind the assault, however the Pentagon stated it was accountable.
U.S. protection officers advised NPR on Saturday that the U.S. army had moved property within the space and strengthened army defensive positions within the space in anticipation of an assault that included plane. Gen. Michael Kurilla, the highest US army within the Middle East, arrived in Israel on Thursday to coordinate with the Israeli army.
Hamas expressed assist for the Iranian assault in a Telegram publish on Sunday, saying it was a “pure proper” and a pure response to Israel’s assault on Iranian diplomatic services in Syria this month. . The extremist group known as on Arab and Muslim international locations to proceed their assist within the battle in opposition to Israel, based on the Washington Post.
Also on Sunday, Israel’s intelligence company Mossad introduced in an announcement that Hamas had rejected the most recent hostage deal abstract, resulting in a six-week suspension of preventing between Israel and Hamas. They straight blamed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar for the failure of the negotiations.
This assault is a serious escalation of hostilities within the area
The assault and retaliation come after conflict broke out between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group Hamas on October 7, when Hamas led an assault on Israel that many officers all over the world stated It represents an escalation of battle within the space the place that they had expressed concern. Approximately 1,200 individuals died.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned Iran’s assault and stated he was “deeply alarmed by the very actual threat of a damaging escalation throughout the area.”
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry known as Iran’s assault a “harmful escalation” and known as for “the train of utmost restraint in order to not trigger additional instability and rigidity within the area and its individuals” in an announcement Saturday evening. Jordan’s Prime Minister stated on Sunday that escalation within the area would result in a “harmful path”, and the UAE Foreign Ministry known as for optimum restraint to keep away from harmful repercussions.
Iran has offered Hamas with cash and weapons for a few years. The White House has circuitously linked Iran to the October 7 assault.
In the six months since October 7, Israel has bombarded Gaza and carried out a devastating floor invasion, leaving a lot of the territory in ruins and killing greater than 33,000 Palestinians, Palestinian well being officers stated. It is claimed that he died.
Iran final carried out the same assault in 2020, when it fired ballistic missiles at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. fired, injuring dozens of U.S. troopers. .
Additional reporting by NPR’s Daniel Estrin and Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv, NPR’s Tom Bowman in Washington, D.C., and NPR’s Jane Araf in Amman. Alon Avital and Itay Stern contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.contributed to this story
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