Iran launched waves of drones and missiles toward Israel on Saturday in retaliation for Israel’s attack on an Iranian site in Damascus, Syria, this month. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said Iran fired over 300 ballistic missiles, UAVs, suicide drones and cruise missiles. The vast majority were intercepted outside of Israeli territory, according to the IDF.
Iranian strikes have hit Irbil in northern Iraq and the Arad region in southern Israel. An Israeli air base was also hit, causing “minor damage to infrastructure,” according to the IDF. Targets were intercepted in Jerusalem and Dimona on Saturday night.
No UAVs managed to infiltrate Israel. Of 30 Iranian cruise missiles launched, zero entered Israeli airspace, 25 were downed by the Israeli Air Force outside of Israeli airspace, and 120 ballistic missiles were downed by Israeli aerial defense systems, the IDF said.
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Iranian missile and drone attacks were launched at Israel from positions in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, according to the Iranian state-run Tasnim News Agency. In a statement, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli barracks in the Golan Heights, an Israeli-occupied strip along the border with Syria, with a barrage of rockets after midnight local time.
After the attack, the IDF highlighted the close coordination of a coalition led by U.S. Central Command, the U.K., France and other countries, highlighting the Aerial Defense Array and the defensive abilities of the Israeli Air Force’s aircraft.
According to the IDF, out of over 120 ballistic missiles, only a few crossed into Israeli territory. They caused minor damage to infrastructure at the Nevatim Air Force Base. According to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, the IAF’s Adir jets were returning to the base from the aerial defense mission.
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The escalation prompted airspace closures in neighboring countries during the attack. Egypt suspended flights to Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, according to Egyptian state TV. Israeli authorities announced the reopening of the country’s airspace starting at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. The IDF described the wide-scale Iranian attack as a “major escalation.”
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