AMNUN, northern Israel — Iran launched drones against Israel on Saturday that are en route, though they may take hours to arrive, according to Israeli media sources.
Barak Ravid of Axios and Walla reported the attack:
BREAKING: Iran launches attack against Israel using dozens of drones, four U.S. and Israeli officials told me
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) April 13, 2024
The attack is supposedly in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on April 1 that eliminated seven senior Iranian military officials, including two generals, in Damascus, Syria. Iran has been using its terrorist proxies to attack Israel for decades, and accelerated those attacks after the Hamas invasion of October 7.
In anticipation of the attack, Israel’s Home Front Command canceled school for the next two days, and ordered demonstrations in favor of the hostages still in Gaza — a Saturday night tradition in much of the country — to disperse. Other large gatherings were also banned.
A military briefing scheduled with Breitbart News for Sunday morning was also abruptly canceled due to the ongoing attack.
It is not clear whether Israel’s aerial defense system will be able to manage the drone attack, and whether Israel will — as promised — attack Iranian territory in response.
Fighter jets were heard overhead in the northern Galilee on Saturday evening.
The drone attack could mark a dramatic escalation in a conflict that has been fueled for three-and-a-half decades by Iranian radicalism against the West.
Update: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement:
Citizens of Israel,
In recent years, and especially in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for a direct attack by Iran.
Our defensive systems are deployed; we are ready for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. The State of Israel is strong. The IDF is strong. The public is strong.
We appreciate the US standing alongside Israel, as well as the support of Britain, France and many other countries.
We have determined a clear principle: Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We will defend ourselves against any threat and will do so level-headedly and with determination.
Citizens of Israel, I know that you also are also level-headed. I call on you to follow the directives of IDF Home Front Command.
Together we will stand and with G-d’s help – together we will overcome all of our enemies.
Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari issued a statement describing a single drone launched by Iran, from its own territory. Israel has said that any attack from Iranian territory would result in an attack on Iran.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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