Iran has launched an attack against Israel using hundreds of suicide drones, the Jewish state has confirmed.
The dozens of drones will take two hours or less to reach Israeli air space, an expert told The Post. Officials believe they’re destined for military targets.
In response, Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced restrictions on civilian activities.
The Times of Israel reports the guidelines prohibit educational activities and bans gatherings over 1,000 people.
Stricter restrictions have been imposed in areas that abut Gaza.The news was first reported by Barack Ravid for Axios, who cited multiple Israeli and US sources.
Unverified videos posted to Telegram, and shared online showed a swarm of buzzing Iranian drones — which are known to make a “lawnmower sound” — flying over Iraq.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation, saying the country was preparing for a direct attack, and will respond accordingly.
“Citizens of Israel, in recent years, and even more so in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran,” Netanyahu said.
“Our defense systems are deployed, and we are prepared for any scenario, both in defense and offense. The State of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, the public is strong.”
President Joe Biden rushed back to the White House on Saturday evening from his weekend beach getaway in Delaware.
Jordan has also reportedly closed its airspace in response.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation Saturday, saying the country was preparing for a direct attack, and will respond accordingly.
Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said any direct hit by Iranian drones on Israeli soil “will probably” elicit a response ten-fold.
“If Israel is hit and is hit in a sensitive location, Israel will respond heavily,” he said. He said Iran launching drone strikes “is obviously a significant escalation. There’s no other way to put this.”
Schanzer said in theory there’s “very little” difference between Iran directly attacking Israel versus directly conducting a strike on Jerusalem, but that the optics of a direct launch from Tehran “gives Israel an opportunity now to turn the tables on the regime.”
“The Iranians can no longer claim to be the aggrieved party. It’s a direct strike after having coordinated literally thousands of strikes from proxies. This is a moment that I would say has been inevitable in the region for several decades now, where the regime is finally owning its own aggression and it will give the Israelis ample opportunity to respond.”
Schanzer noted though that if Israel manages to take out “95 to 95%” of Iran’s drones in Saturday’s strike “that may be the end of it,” or may choose to retaliate at some later point. “They’ll have the time and space to decide to do so. so much depends on how successful these drone strikes are when anticipating a response.”
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari told CNN GPS will not be available in some areas to track the drones ahead of the imminent attack.
Iran said in August it had built an advanced drone, the Mohajer-10, with an operational range of 1,240 miles, according to the Times of Israel.
They are capable of flying for up to 24 hours with loads as large as 660 pounds.
Two US officials told CBS Friday that Iran could deploy as many as 100 drones.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/13/world-news/iran-launches-wave-of-drone-attacks-at-israel-report/
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