Sirens and Explosions Ring Out Across Israel as Iran Launches Drones and Missiles

Sirens wailed as Reuters journalists in Israel reported hearing distant heavy thuds and bangs, which local media attributed to aerial interceptions of explosive drones. The authorities confirmed that a 7-year-old girl was critically injured in the incident. Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that Iran had launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, the majority of which were intercepted outside Israeli borders. The attack, he said, included over 10 cruise missiles and over 200 drones and missiles, resulting in light damage to one Israeli military facility.

Hagari added that the engagement had not ended, and Israeli forces were still intercepting incoming threats. Iran had vowed retaliation for what it described as an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1, resulting in the death of seven Guards officers. Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack. The Iranian mission to the United Nations warned the U.S. to “stay away” from the conflict, threatening a severe response if Israel made another mistake.

However, it also indicated that Iran now considered the matter concluded. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Iran’s attack, expressing deep alarm about the real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation. U.S. President Joe Biden, in response to the escalating tensions, cut short a visit to his home state of Delaware to meet with national security advisers and pledged to stand with Israel, reaffirming the U.S.’s commitment to Israel’s security. The conflict between Israel and Hamas had driven up tensions, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria, and drawing long-range fire at Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.

These clashes threatened to escalate into a direct open conflict involving Iran and its regional allies against Israel and its main supporter, the United States. While Israel and Iran have been bitter foes for decades, their long feud has mostly unfolded through proxies or by targeting each other’s forces operating in third countries. Israel’s military, in response to the escalating threat, put the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on standby for possible impact from drone strikes, and both Israel and Lebanon closed their airspace. Jordan readied air defenses to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, while Syria, an ally of Iran, put its defense systems on high alert.

The situation further escalated as Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite group and Iran’s main ally in the region, fired rockets at an Israeli base. Additionally, Iran seized the Portuguese-flagged ship MSC Aries, boarding it and taking it into Iranian waters. MSC, the operator, confirmed that Iran had seized the ship and was working for its safe return and the wellbeing of its crew. The increasing tensions have raised concerns about a wider conflict in the region, prompting global leaders to express alarm and call for restraint.