Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Iran sends drones, missiles towards Israel

Thank you for joining us for updates on everything related to Israel’s war on Gaza. This live page is now closed.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a quick recap from today:

• Air raid sirens are sounding across Israel as Israel’s air defence system actively intercepts incoming Iranian attacks in the skies above Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
• Iran’s mission to the UN says its drone and missile attack on Israel was a response to Israel’s April 1 attack on its embassy in Damascus, Syria and that the “matter can be deemed concluded”.
• Netanyahu has convened Israel’s war cabinet with military spokesperson Daniel Hagari describing the attack as “a severe and dangerous escalation”.
• US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson says President Biden is being “regularly updated” and that Iran’s “attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours”.
• The drone attacks were reported on Saturday night shortly after Hamas said it had handed its response for a ceasefire proposal in Gaza to mediators in Egypt and Qatar.

US President Joe Biden has said in a post on X that he has met with his national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks on Israel.

Reuters, citing two “regional security sources”, reports that Jordanian jets have downed dozens of Iranian drones flying across northern and central Jordan heading to Israel.

The sources said the drones were brought down in the air on the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley and were heading in the direction of Jerusalem.

Others were intercepted close to the Iraqi-Syrian border. They gave no further details.

The former US president has hit out at Biden over the Iranian attack on Israel.

“ISRAEL IS UNDER ATTACK! This should never have been allowed to happen – This would NEVER have happened if I were President!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“AMERICA SUPPORTS ISRAEL!”

We’ve been looking out from the balcony here across the Jerusalem skyline. And we’ve seen a succession of air defence interceptors going up from various points around the city to meet targets in the sky.

And now the police seem to be going around on the streets in their cars with an announcement going out which is telling people to go to their nearest air raid shelters as quickly as they can.

The military has been telling people that the air defence systems that Israel has – that’s the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow 2 and 3 – are very capable systems designed to deal with multiple types of threats.

It’s a layered air defence system to deal with rockets, to deal with ballistic and cruise missiles and to deal with drones as well.

And that is what we’re likely to be seeing over the next few minutes and hours as these different waves of projectiles come in.

The big test of course, for this layered air defence system is, [can it] cope with an assault of this magnitude, because this is not something that Israel has faced before, on this scale.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing the Israeli military, reports that the ballistic missile barrage launched from Iran has now concluded and that drones and cruise missiles are now expected.

The Ministry of Defence says British Royal Air Force jets in the Middle East “will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required” after Iran targeted Israel with drones and missiles.

“In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks,” it said in a statement.

Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader in the US House of Representatives, has voiced support for Israel.

“Iran, a sworn enemy of the United States, has launched an unprecedented attack against our democratic ally, the State of Israel,” Jeffries said in a statement.

“America’s commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad and unbreakable. Iran will not succeed. We stand with the people of Israel during this moment of significant challenge.”

Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars, quoting a military source, reports that Iran is watching Jordan for any moves in support of Israel during Tehran’s retaliatory attacks, warning the country may become the “next target”.

“A military-informed source said [we] are closely monitoring Jordan’s movements during the punitive attacks … and if they participate in any possible action [to back Israel], they will be the next target,” Fars stated.

Qatar University’s Hassan Barari has told Al Jazeera that Iran’s attack on Israel “is an escalation” but is also “calculated” and “measured”.

Barari said Iran’s mission to the UN’s statement that the attack “concludes” the matter of Israel’s attack on Iran’s Damascus Embassy shows Iran “doesn’t want any further retaliation”.

“What the Iranians are trying to do is to come up with a measured, calculated attack in order to regain deterrence and not to be seen as weak in front of their own proxies,” Barari said.

On how Iran’s attack may affect Israel’s war on Gaza, Barari said that “it all depends on how the Israelis read the situation”.

“I know some right-wing politicians in the government will see this as an opportunity because the world’s attention has shifted onto Iran-Israel and then they can do something probably horrendous in Gaza.”

The Iran-aligned Lebanese group says on its Telegram channel that it targeted the air and missile defence headquarters of the Israeli army in the “Keila barracks” in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with dozens of Katyusha rockets.

The Israeli military has been carrying out attacks in southeast Lebanon as well in recent hours and there is escalation on the Israel-Lebanon border. ‏

Israeli army radio reports that more than 100 drones were intercepted outside Israeli territory with assistance from the US and UK.

Reuters reported separately that the US military shot down Iranian drone aircraft headed towards Israel, quoting three US officials, without disclosing how many drones were shot down or the precise locations.

The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel as an “unprecedented escalation”.

“The EU strongly condemns the unacceptable Iranian attack against Israel,” he wrote on the platform X.

“This is an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security.”

Borrell and the EU also condemned Israel’s April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron has called Iran’s attack on Israel, in which it launched dozens of drones and missiles, “reckless” in a post on X.

Reuters reports Egypt’s air defence is on alert amid fears of an Iranian drone attack aimed at Israel.

Egypt’s military General Command has formed a team to monitor the situation and make any necessary decisions regarding the country’s airspace, Egyptian military and security sources told the news agency.