For the first time ever, Iran carried out attacks towards Israel.
At midnight on Saturday, sirens sounded in Israel warning of air strikes, residents were advised to seek shelter, and explosions were heard as air defenses were activated.
The interceptions lit up the night sky in several places across Israel, while its allies shot down many of the drones and missiles before they reached Israel.
At least nine countries participated in the military escalation; Projectiles were launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, and were shot down by Israel, the United States, Britain, France, and Jordan.
Here’s what we know about the attack so far.
Attack with drones, ballistic and cruise missiles
image source, Getty Images
The Israeli military said on Sunday that Iran had launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel.
Army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement that the attack included 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles, none of which entered Israeli territory, and 110 ballistic missiles, a small number of which reached Israel.
The BBC has not independently verified these figures.
The shortest distance from Iran to Israel is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) via Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
Bombardment from several countries
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said on Saturday evening that it had launched drones and missiles.
Iraqi security sources told Reuters that projectiles were seen flying over Iraq towards Israel.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard explained that the ballistic missiles were launched about an hour after the launch of the slower drones, so that they reached Israel at about the same time.
The US Department of Defense said that US forces intercepted dozens of missiles and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon announced that it had also fired two volleys of missiles at an Israeli military base in the occupied Golan Heights, a plateau that Israel annexed from Syria, in a move that was not recognized by most of the international community.
Israel and its allies intercept most of the drones and missiles
Admiral Hagari said that about 99 percent of the incoming missiles were intercepted either outside Israeli airspace or over Israel.
The interceptions included all drones and cruise missiles, which follow a straight trajectory, and most ballistic missiles, which are launched in an arc trajectory that uses gravity to reach very high speeds.
US President Joe Biden said US forces “helped Israel shoot down almost all” of the drones and missiles launched by Iran on Sunday.
He added in a statement that the United States transported aircraft and warships to the region before the unprecedented attack.
image source, Getty Images
Security sources told Reuters that American forces, operating from undisclosed bases in the region, shot down a number of Iranian drones over southern Syria near the border with Jordan.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that British Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft also shot down a number of Iranian attack drones. Sunak said the Iranian attack was a “dangerous and unnecessary escalation, which I condemn in the strongest terms.”
As for Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel despite its strong criticism of the war in Gaza, it also intercepted objects that entered its airspace to ensure the safety of its citizens, according to a statement by the Jordanian Cabinet.
The Israeli military said France helped carry out airspace patrols, but it was not clear whether it shot down drones or missiles.
The number of missiles that reached Israel and the damage they caused
In Jerusalem, BBC reporters reported hearing sirens and seeing Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in action, which uses radar to track missiles and distinguish between those that can hit residential areas and those that cannot.
Interceptor missiles are only launched towards missiles that are expected to target populated areas.
Admiral Hagari said that a small number of ballistic missiles penetrated Israeli airspace and struck the territory.
Hagari explained that “one of them caused a minor injury” to the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert in southern Israel, adding that the base “is still operating.”
While the official Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency said that the attack dealt “strong blows” to the air base.
Admiral Hagari said a 10-year-old girl was seriously injured by shrapnel. It was reported that the girl belongs to the Arab Bedouins near the southern town of Arad. She was injured after intercepting an Iranian drone overhead, and was transferred to intensive care.
Jordan also said that some shrapnel fell on its territory “without causing any serious damage or any injuries to citizens.”
what is happening now?
Israel’s Channel 12 TV quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that there would be a “major response” to the attack.
Israeli airspace has been reopened, as is the case with neighboring countries, but Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the confrontation with Iran “is not over yet.”
Meanwhile, Iran warned Israel that its response “will be much greater than military action tonight if Israel responds to Iran,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state television.
Bagheri said that American bases would be attacked if the United States participated in any Israeli response.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami also said that Tehran will respond to any Israeli attack targeting its interests, officials, or citizens.
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet at approximately 20:00 GMT to discuss the latest crisis, at the request of Israel.
Biden said he would also meet with leaders of the Group of Seven major countries on Sunday, to coordinate a “unified diplomatic response” to the “brazen” Iranian attack.
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