Iran sends missiles, drones in unprecedented attack on Israel

Iran has launched a large-scale attack on Israel, sending many dozens of drones and missiles towards the Jewish state on Saturday night in a move that was widely expected but unprecedented in its scale.

The attack comes in "response to the recent crimes of the Zionist regime," according to a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), referring to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian compound in Syria at the start of the month that killed two brigadier generals.

"The wicked regime will be punished," said Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a social media post on the platform X, formerly Twitter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that "Israel is strong" in a post on X, just as the Israeli army first confirmed the Iranian drone and missile attack late on Saturday.

"The State of Israel is strong, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are strong, the people of Israel are strong," Netanyahu wrote on X, just four minutes before an army post saying that Iran had launched drones.

"Together we will stand, and with God's help - together we will overcome all our enemies," he wrote.

In an accompanying video message he said: "We have a clear principle: whoever attacks us, we will attack them."

Israel has been Iran's declared arch-enemy since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The decades-old tensions between the two countries have escalated following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October.

Israel shut its airspace overnight in response to the attack, Israeli media reported, citing the aviation authority.

Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon had also closed their airspace, according government officials and local media.

"We are closely monitoring Iranian killer drones that are en route to Israel," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said. "This is a severe and dangerous escalation."

He said Israel's defensive and offensive capabilities are at the "highest level of readiness ahead of this large-scale attack from Iran."

Earlier, Israel issued guidelines for the public, advising them to be close to shelters and limiting the number of people who could gather in certain places, depending on risk. School and educational activities were also cancelled ahead of a two-week Passover holiday starting on Sunday.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said earlier that the nation was prepared.

"In recent days we have strengthened our defensive and offensive array and we are determined to take any measures required to defend the citizens of the State of Israel," he said, according to his office.

He told the public to follow instructions issued by the army and Homeland Security that were issued on Saturday evening, entering effect at 11 pm (2000 GMT) and initially in force for 48 hours.

US President Joe Biden was being kept informed of the situation and was to meet with his security team at the White House for talks, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council said.

The US has been Israel's staunchest ally and biggest military supporter.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned “in the strongest terms” Iran’s “reckless attack” against Israel.

He said Britain will “continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.” The UK and its allies were "urgently working to stabilize the situation," he said.

The attack was widely expected and the US and Israel had sent additional troops into the region.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured Gallant of the "unwavering US support" in a call due to "acute regional threats," according to US Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder.

Austin said Israel can "count on full US support" against any attacks by Iran and its proxies.

The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, urged all Germans on the ground in Israel, describing it as "a direct attack like never before."

Earlier, the IRGC navy detained a container ship in the Gulf that is allegedly linked to Israel, news reports said on Saturday.

Images distributed by the Iranian state news agency IRNA and Tasnim news agency, which is considered a mouthpiece of the IRGC, showed commandos rappelling from a military helicopter onto the ship's deck.

The vessel was on its way to Iranian waters after being detained, according to IRNA.

Passenger airlines meanwhile were avoiding Iran amid the heightened threat situation.

Dutch airline KLM and the Australian airline Qantas said they had adjusted their flight routes to avoid flying through dangerous airspace. KLM said it would no longer fly over Iran and most of Israel with immediate effect, as a "precautionary measure," Dutch news agency ANP reported.