Iran attacks Israel: Most missiles intercepted, next steps unclear

(NewsNation) — Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and many other Israeli cities and towns as hundreds of drones and missiles from Iran flew towards them, but the only known destruction is described as minor damage to an air base.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli defenses intercepted “the vast majority of incoming missiles” and a U.S. military official confirmed to NewsNation that U.S. forces in the region have shot down some of the incoming Iranian-launched drones.

“In accordance with our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, U.S. forces in the region continue to shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel,” the U.S. military official said.

“Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect U.S. forces operating in the region,” the official said.

But what happens next is unclear. The U.S. is telling Israel it won’t support a counterattack, according to Axios.

The attack marks the first time Iran has ever launched a direct military assault on Israel.

President Joe Biden, in a written statement late Saturday, condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms.” He said U.S. military support helped Israel “take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”

Biden also said he will lead a meeting of the G7 leaders Sunday to coordinate “a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”

Several social media posts show an Iranian state TV  anchor saying: “A significant drone operation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against targets inside occupied territories has started.”

“In response to the Zionist regime’s crime in attacking the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, the IRGC’s air force hit certain targets in the territories of the Zionist regime with dozens of drones and missiles,” the statement continued.

Two Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity tell The New York Times they expect the drones to strike the Golan Heights and an Israeli air force base in the Negev Desert.

IDF spokesperson Hagari said the Iranian attack has caused “minor damage to a military base with no casualties. Only one little girl has been hurt, and we hope she will be well.”

The Times of Israel reports medics are treating a 10-year-old girl in southern Israel who was wounded by shrapnel during the attack. The Associated Press reports the girl is seven years old.

Explosions and damage can be seen on unconfirmed social media posts.

Israel says most of the incoming missiles or drones were intercepted outside Israeli territory. Witnesses reported explosions in the skies above Amman, Jordan, Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, and in Damascus, Syria. IDF Spokesman Peter Lerner says Iran, in total, launched 180 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles.

Iran was not the only source of incoming fire. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched “dozens” of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military site in the Golan Heights early Sunday. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling on multiple locations in south Lebanon.

“If someone is hurting us, we will hurt them,” said Tal Heinrich, Israeli government spokesperson, speaking to NewsNation a few hours before the Iranian launches. 

Iran has vowed revenge for last week’s attack on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, Syria. Heinrich told NewsNation the building wasn’t involved in diplomacy, but was actually a military venue for Iran’s Kuds force. 

“Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further,” Israeli Army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Haragi told reporters. He added that Israel has closed its airspace and “is prepared.”

A White House official says President Joe Biden is getting regular updates from his national security team, and is in “constant communication” with Israeli officials. Biden cut short his weekend trip to Delaware and returned to the White House Saturday afternoon. 

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Sunday on the developing situation in the Middle East.

National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the attack by Iran, which had been expected for days, “is likely to unfold over a number of hours. “President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran,” Watson said in a statement.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran that “whoever harms us, we will harm them. We will protect ourselves from any threat and we will do so with steadfastness and determination.”

In a video broadcast Saturday night, he said Israel has been preparing for “any scenario, both in defense and attack,” as he stressed that the Israeli Defense Force, the state and the public were strong.

Reuters quotes “regional security sources” who say Jordanian air defense is prepared to intercept the drones that violate its airspace. Jordan is directly east of Israel, and about 1,800 miles west of Iran.

Iran has issued its own warning to other countries. The semi-official Mehr news agency quotes Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani saying that Tehran will firmly respond to any country that “opens its airspace or territory for attacks on Iran by Israel.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms” the Iranian attack.

“Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard,” the statement said. “The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all of our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.”

Retired Air Force Major General William Enyart tells “NewsNation Prime” he wonders if Israel might be “judicious” in its response, as it was by attacking Iran’s diplomatic mission in Syria, not inside Iran itself. But he also fears that a tit-for-tat retaliation cycle could expand this conflict into a full-on regional war.

This story is developing. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.