Air defense work over Jerusalem
Iran, Hezbollah and Ansar Allah (more commonly referred as the Houthis) launched a combined drone and missile strike on Israel. According to media reports, the strike involved 185 UAVs, 36 cruise missiles and 110 ground-to-ground missiles.
The US and some other NATO states assisted Israeli forces to repel the strikes. In particular, the Pentagon claimed that US military forces intercepted “dozens” of drones and missiles “en route to Israel” launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Israeli media insist that 99% of the drones and missiles were intercepted. First Iranian reports say that the strike successfully destroyed vital targets in the Israeli territory.
This became the first Iranian strike on Israeli that was officially launched from the territory of Iran. All earlier “Iranian strikes” on Israel were attributed by Israel & Co to groups that they have described as “Iranian proxies”.
The escalation was a response to the Israeli airstrike on Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier in April. The strike killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, including two high-ranking generals.
Since Friday, US officials had been claiming that Tehran could be gearing up for a massive drone and missile strike on Israeli targets in the following 24 to 48 hours. So, now, the strike has happened.
The situation is developing.
