Iran launched a direct strike on Israel on Saturday, according to the IDF, in a huge escalation of the long-running clandestine battle between the regional enemies that threatened to overshadow the Gaza confrontation.
Iran had regularly vowed to target Israel in punishment for a deadly April 1 air strike on its Damascus consulate building, and Washington had warned in recent days that reprisals were on the way.
“Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
“We are working in close cooperation with the United States and our partners in the region in order to act against the launches and intercept them,” he said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed a retaliatory drone attack against Israel was under way. While state media said “drones and missiles” had been launched.
The White House said it expected the Iranian drone attack to “unfold over a number of hours”.
It said Washington would “stand with the people of Israel” as Iran attacks.
Airspace closing
The army statement came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for a “direct attack from Iran”.
“Our defence systems are deployed, we are prepared for any scenario, both in defence and attack,” the Israeli premier said in a televised statement, adding Israel had the backing of the United States and “many” other countries.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had previously detained an Israeli-linked container ship in the Gulf earlier on Saturday, putting the entire region on alert.
Israel said it was closing schools across the country, while Jordan and Iraq, which are located between Iran and Israel, stated that their airspace would be temporarily closed.
Israel announced that it would restrict its own airspace at 2130 GMT.
Shortly after the ship seizure, the Israeli military warned Iran that it would face “the consequences of choosing to escalate the situation any further.”
The April 1 strike in Damascus, which killed 16 individuals, including two Iranian generals, was widely attributed to Israel. Iran had often threatened to strike back, but had not defined how.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship “related” to Israel in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, and it was now moving into Iranian seas, according to Iranian official television.
The ship’s operator, the Italian-Swiss corporation MSC, said it was working with the appropriate authorities to secure the safety of the 25 crew members onboard.
Both Israel and the United States condemned the capture as piracy, and Israel demanded that the European Union name the Guards a “terrorist organization.”
In Washington, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson urged Iran to “immediately release the vessel and its international crew”.
“Seizing a civilian vessel without provocation is a blatant violation of international law, and an act of piracy” , she went on to say.
President Joe Biden’s weekend vacation to his home state of Delaware was cut short due to important discussions in Washington, the White House said.
According to his spokeswoman, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has postponed a planned travel to Hungary and Austria.
An aide to Iran’s supreme leader claimed that Israel was in “complete panic” about Tehran’s impending reaction.
“They don’t know what Iran wants to do, so they and their supporters are terrified,” senior adviser Yahya Rahim said.
Gaza truce stalemate
The Gaza war began on October 7 with Hamas’ unprecedented offensive on Israel, which killed 1,170 people, the majority of them were civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,686 individuals, the majority of them are women and children.
Israel’s military says it hit more than 30 Hamas sites in Gaza.
A fire broke out among the wreckage of a demolished mosque in Deir al-Balah, the main center city.
According to witness Abdullah Baraka, Israel’s military “demanded that the whole area be evacuated” before it was “wiped out in minutes”.
Abd Thabet, a resident of the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp, claimed people were told to flee on Friday evening due to a major explosion that caused “massive destruction”.
“All of the houses were demolished, including my home,” the 35-year-old told AFP.
Tensions have also risen in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a missing Israeli youngster was discovered dead on Saturday.
After the youngster went missing in Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli police assaulted nearby Palestinian towns, torching cars and homes, killing at least one and injuring dozens.
Hamas said it had responded to a Gaza truce plan proposed by US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators at talks in Cairo this week.
The Palestinian militant organization said it was keeping to its earlier demands, which included “a permanent ceasefire” and the “withdrawal of the occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip”.
The Israeli prime minister’s office accused Hamas of thwarting efforts to exchange hostages for inmates.
“Hamas to this day has refused any deal and any compromise proposal,” the statement stated.
Washington has stepped up pressure on Netanyahu to increase humanitarian deliveries to Gaza, where the United Nations warns of impending hunger.
During the October attack, Hamas militants took roughly 250 hostages, 129 of whom Israel believes are still in Gaza, including 34 who the army says are dead.