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ISRAEL tonight promised revenge against Iran’s air strike, warning: “We will exact a price in the way and at the time that is right for us.”
War minister Benny Gantz’s threat came after 99 per cent of more than 300 drones and missiles launched from Iranian soil were intercepted overnight.
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British, US, French and Jordanian forces plus Israel’s defence systems downed the aerial barrage.
Mr Gantz pledged to build a “regional coalition in the face of the Iranian threat”.
Adding to his “exact a price” comment, he said: “Iran is a global problem, a regional challenge, and a danger to Israel as well.
“And today, the world stood clearly together with Israel against the threat.”
READ MORE IRAN-ISRAEL CRISIS
Israel cabinet minister Miki Zohar called for a response of “unprecedented force” to remove the “head of the snake”
We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win
Benjamin Netanyahu
PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win.”
A close ally of his said ominously: “I don’t think anybody in his right mind can expect not to retaliate after hundreds of missiles were fired in our direction.
“Of course we listen, we consult with all our friends in the world but the last word should be ours.”
In its historic attack, Iran fired 170 kamikaze drones, 120 ballistic rockets and 30 cruise missiles.
The nation said it was in self-defence after Israel killed seven of its Revolutionary Guards including a commander during a strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1.
But after launching from Kermanshah province last night, only a few ballistic warheads and drones hit their targets.
Damage was light and the only reported casualty was a Bedouin girl, aged seven, caught by falling debris from an interceptor rocket in southern Israel.
She remained critically ill and was surrounded by her distraught family in an intensive care unit in Beersheba last night.
Allied plans were drawn up after Iran signalled its intent 72 hours ahead.
It was the first time Israel has been attacked by a sovereign state since Saddam Hussein’s Iraq launched scud missiles in the first Gulf War in 1991.
I WAS IN JERUSALEM HOTEL WHEN IRAN LAUNCHED ITS ATTACK
By David Ross, Head of Video for The Sun, in Jerusalem
THE ALERTS came through on our phones after we arrived back at the hotel in central Jerusalem.
Like many others, we headed to our room knowing that Iran had just launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles in our direction.
Then, at 2am, we heard two enormous booms, followed soon after by emergency sirens.
Every Israeli knows the drill but for my wife Jess and I, it was the first time we’d experienced anything like it.
They call it terror for a reason: because it is terrifying. There’s a bizarre adrenaline rush too.
You don’t have time to think and you act on instinct.
It’s about grabbing any clothing you can and dressing as you quickly move to the safety of a shelter.
We headed below ground to Level -4 and remained there as the sirens continued to blare all around us.
After what felt like a lifetime – but was probably only 20 minutes – we were given the all-clear to return to our rooms.
Our hearts were racing as the footage of what was happening overhead exploded over X and the TV news channels.
We huddled together, glued to the latest developments.
By the time it was all over, the Israel Defence Forces managed to intercept 99% of the drones and surface-to-surface missiles.
A combination of the Arrow Aerial Defence System, the Iron Dome, Israeli aircraft and warplanes from the UK and US had saved countless lives – ours included.
UK defence chiefs, acting on intelligence, beefed up cover — rushing additional jets and refuelling craft to the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus.
The drone-busting mission was an extension of the UK’s long-standing Operation Shader against IS in Iraq and Syria.
Death to Israel! Death to America!
Lawmakers in Iran’s parliament
The jets were given orders to shoot down any missiles or drones en route to Israel.
Top Guns picked off the slow-flying self-destructing craft — which took up to nine hours to fly 1,200 miles.
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Wild celebrations had erupted across Iran as news of its attack broke.
Lawmakers in the nation’s parliament waved fists and chanted: “Death to Israel! Death to America!”
Mobs surged into capital Tehran, burning Israeli and US flags and waving toy missiles.
Armed forces chief Brigadier General Mohammad Bagheri crowed that the operation was “completed with full success”.
He warned US bases would be targeted next if its forces joined retaliatory strikes.
Iran cited Article 51 of the UN Charter claiming self-defence, adding: “The matter can be deemed concluded.
“Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.
“It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US must stay away!”
Iran-backed terror group Hamas, whose October 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis sparked the war in Gaza, saluted its comrades today.
Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe
Statement by Iran
Drones and missiles were also fired from Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen.
They were mopped up over the Red Sea by Israel’s defences.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi claimed his forces had “taught a lesson” to Israel.
The two nations have been fighting a “shadow war” for decades — trading attacks by land, sea, air and in cyberspace.
But the drone and missile barrage takes the conflict to a new level — and showed off the power of Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow 3 rocket defences.
Just think about the hardware that Iran threw into the sky and how little damage that caused
John Kirby
Video appeared to show an Arrow 3 hypersonic ground-to-air missile taking out an Iranian ballistic missile in space.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described the allied operation into early Sunday as “extraordinary”.
He said: “Truly a successful night, due to a lot of skill, a lot of professionalism and a lot of co-ordination.
“It also tells me that Israel does have superior military capability.
“Just think about the hardware that Iran threw into the sky and how little damage that caused.”
Targets are thought to have included the Israel Defence Forces’ early warning stations and intelligence bases in the West Bank and Golan Heights.
I’m quite confident we will take the necessary steps to defend our people. We are not war seekers
Isaac Herzog
The Netavim airbase sustained only light damage and remained fully operational.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said: “We were attacked last night from four corners of the Middle East. This is a declaration of war.
“I’m quite confident we will take the necessary steps to defend our people. We are not war seekers.”
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What is Israel’s Iron Dome & how does it work?
ISRAEL’S air defence system is one of the best in the world having successfully intercepted thousands of rockets.
The mobile all-weather Iron Dome is at the forefront of that and was central to fending off Iran’s recent missile and drone attack.
Here’s the lowdown on the high tech system.
What is Israel’s Iron Dome?
Iron Dome is a counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) short range air defence system.
It is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 2–43 miles away.
It intercepts rockets that are travelling in the direction of urban areas and brings them down – the first system of its kind in the world.
Israel hopes to increase the range of the dome’s interceptions to 250km and make it able to stop rockets coming from two directions.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, it can be operated in all weather conditions including fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain.
From 2011 to 2021, the United States contributed a total of $1.6billion to the Iron Dome defence system, befor another US$1billion was approved by the US Congress in 2022.
How does it work?
The dome is made up of missile batteries which are shaped like giant match boxes and are tilted in the direction of Gaza.
The Iron Dome monitor detects a target using radar and monitors its trajectory.
A control centre then calculates an interception point and then commands a rocket to launch if the foreign missile is heading towards an urban area.
Once in contact with the missile, the rocket explodes and brings it down.
Each launcher contains 20 Tamir Missiles with proximity war heads and there are several batteries positioned around the country.
Since being implemented in 2011 the computer systems have been updated, improved and upgrades to improve the accuracy of the rockets.
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