Following an airstrike in Syria last week that killed two Iranian generals, Israel has been on high alert. Iran has blamed Israel for the strike and vowed retaliation.
The Israeli military says Iran has launched a number of drones toward Israel. The army’s spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said it would take several hours for the aircraft to arrive. “Israel was prepared,” Hagari said on Saturday night.
Tel Aviv has been on heightened alert since an airstrike last week killed two Iranian generals in Syria. Iran accused Israel of being behind the attack and vowed revenge.
In a statement by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged launching “dozens of drones and missiles towards the occupied territories and positions of the Zionist regime.” The statement did not elaborate.
The drone launch late Saturday was the first full-scale military assault by Iran on Israel, marking a significant escalation after decades of hostility that began with Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Shortly after reports of Iran’s drone attack, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said, “The malicious Zionist regime will be punished,” on his X account.
Israeli aviation authorities said they were closing the country’s airspace to all flights as of 12:30 a.m. local time.
“Our defensive systems are deployed; we are ready for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. The State of Israel is strong. The IDF is strong. The public is strong”. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a video shared on social media.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military said it was canceling school and limiting public gatherings to no more than 1,000 people as a safety precaution.
The head of the US Central Command, General Erik Kurilla, has been in Israel in recent days to coordinate with Israel about the Iranian threats.
Israel has a number of layers of air defense capable of intercepting everything from long-range missiles to UAV’s and short-range rockets.
IDF spokesperson Hagari said Israel has an “excellent air defense system” but stressed it is not 100% effective and urged the public to listen to safety announcements.
