Iran launched a drone attack on Israel late on Saturday night along with missiles in a first-ever direct attack on Israel. Several videos of the drone attack have been going viral on social media in which sirens and loud booms can be heard in the sky over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Tension between Israel and Iran escalated after a salvo of Iranian pilotless aircraft or drones was spotted over Tel Aviv. According to the media reports, Iranian drones were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome as Iran launched massive airstrikes against Israel by sending thousands of drones into its airspace.
Media reports claimed Iran launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel late Saturday in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East ever closer to a regionwide war.
The attack marked the first time Iran had ever launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel’s military said over 100 drones had been fired but that its air defenses were prepared for the attack and it was ready to respond.
Authorities said a 7-year-old girl was critically injured, news agency Reuters reported. Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Iran launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted outside Israeli borders. They included more than 10 cruise missiles, he said.
The Iranian salvo amounted to more than 200 drones and missiles so far, Hagari said, and had caused light damage to one Israeli military facility. The Israeli military said later that it was not advising any residents to prepare to take shelter, revising an earlier alert in what appeared to signal the end of the threat.
India expressed concern over this development and the Ministry of External Affairs said “We are seriously concerned at the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran which threatens the peace and security in the region. We call for immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint, stepping back from violence and return to the path of diplomacy”.
