Iran on Saturday night launched a massive attack on Israel, firing more than 200 drones in a retaliatory attack on Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
There are reports of explosions and apparent intercepts across Israel, including Tel Aviv, and the West Bank.
A CNN team is hearing explosions and sirens as intercepts occur over Jerusalem.
The US says it has shot down some Iranian drones that were headed towards Israel.
Iran had warned that Israel would be “punished” for a strike on its consulate in Syria on 1 April
The Alarmee reports that seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, and six Syrians were killed in the Damascus attack, which Israel has not officially acknowledged.
Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a televised statement, said Iran launched a “massive swarm” of more than 200 killer drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.
He said Israel’s defence systems, and allies in the region, had intercepted the “vast majority” of the missiles and drones, dozens of which he said were shot down outside of Israeli territory.”
Our planes are still in the air intercepting targets and we are ready for any threat that will come to Israel,” Hagari said.
“We will do everything we need, everything to defend the state of Israel,” he added.
Before this Iranian attack, the country’s leader accused Israel of attacking their consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on 1 April, describing the strike as being equivalent to an attack on Iran itself.
“When they attacked our consulate area, it was like they attacked our territory,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Wednesday.
“The evil regime must be punished, and it will be punished.”
President Joe Biden, who met with his national security team in Washington on Saturday, said in a social media post the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.
“I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks against Israel. Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” he tweeted.
