On Saturday (13 April), the Republic of Iran launched an attack comprising missiles and explosive drones on Israel, in what it described to be an act of self-defence.
The airstrikes resulted in injuries to at least one child.
In light of the attacks, Iran is now on high alert for a possible response from Israel.
Sometime after 8.30pm (GMT) on Saturday (13 April) or 4.30am on Sunday (14 April, Singapore time), Al Jazeera reported on the launch of airborne attacks by Iran on Israel.
Having received alerts regarding the incoming strikes, neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon closed their airspaces to ensure civil aviation security.
Al Jazeera quoted an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) statement as declaring: “We launched an operation using drones and missiles in response to the Zionist entity’s crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Syria. The operation was carried out with dozens of missiles and drones to strike specific targets in the occupied territories.”
Several hours later, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed the attacks in a press statement.
Noting that the “dozens of drones” would take several hours to reach Israel, he shared that the military was working on intercepting the attack.
In the meantime, Israel urged residents in high-risk areas like Golan Heights, Nevatim, Dimona and Eliat to stay close to bomb shelters in case the situation escalated.
As air raid sirens blared across Tel Aviv, Israeli army radio reports revealed that many drones were successfully intercepted outside Israeli territory with help from the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK).
Minutes later, another party — Lebanese group Hezbollah — announced that it had launched rockets targeting the Israeli army’s air and defence headquarters.
Amidst the onslaught, reports emerged of at least one casualty involving a young child.
While The Times of Israel identified the casualty as a 7-year-old girl, Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom (MDA) said a 10-year-old girl was “wounded by falling shrapnel from the interception of an Iranian rocket over that area”.
Paramedics promptly evacuated her to Soroka Medical Center. She is said to be in critical condition.
Thus far, no mentions of other casualties or fatalities have emerged.
Acknowledging the attacks, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Amir Saeid Iravani penned a letter explaining the Republic’s actions against Israel.
Source: @Iran_UN on X
In it, he wrote that Iran had invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter following “the Security Council’s failure to condemn the Israeli regime’s actions” after 13 days.
Specifically, he explained that Iran was exercising its right to self-defence in response to Israel’s attacks on Iranian diplomatic premises on 1 April.
Reuters reported that the attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria killed seven military advisers. Three of them were senior commanders.
Despite the nature of the response, Mr Amir noted that the Republic “does not seek escalation or conflict in the region”.
Chiming in on the issue, US President Joe Biden released a statement condemning Iran’s attacks on Israel.
He confirmed the US’ assistance with intercepting them and reiterated the country’s support for Israel:
I’ve just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel. I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel.
Mr Biden also shared his plan to gather leaders to coordinate a “diplomatic response”.
In addition, Israel has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to likewise condemn the attacks. The meeting is set to take place at 8pm GMT on Sunday (14 April), or 4am on Monday (15 April) Singapore time.
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Featured image adapted from @clashreport on X and X.
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