For the first time ever, Iran has carried out strikes against Israeli territory.
In the middle of Saturday night, air raid alerts went off in Israel, residents were urged to seek shelter while explosions were heard as air defences were activated.
Interceptions lit up the night sky in several places across the country, while many drones and missiles were shot down by Israel’s allies before they reached Israeli territory.
At least nine countries were involved in the military escalation – with projectiles fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and downed by Israel, the US, the UK and France as well as Jordan.
Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel, the Israeli military said on Sunday.
The attack included 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles, none of which entered Israeli territory, and 110 ballistic missiles of which a small number reached Israel, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement. The BBC has not independently verified those figures.
The shortest distance from Iran to Israel is about 1,000km (620 miles) across Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
US President Joe Biden said US forces “helped Israel take down nearly all” drones and missiles launched by Iran on Sunday. In a statement, he said the US had moved aircraft and warships to the region before the unprecedented attack.
Read more at BBC.com
What Are Your Thoughts?
