Israel claims 99% success intercepting weapons in Iranian attack
- Iran launched 170 drones and more than 120 ballistic missiles at Israel
- Israel considering options for counterattack on Iran
- UN chief: 'Middle East is on the brink'; US urges Iran to back down
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TEL AVIV, Israel (NewsNation) — Israel praised the success of its defense systems in stopping an attack by Iran involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles over the weekend.
At the same time, tensions in the Middle East are running high over a possible Israeli counterstrike.
Iran launched more than 300 suicide drones and missiles toward Israel Saturday night, but Israel says it and its allies intercepted nearly all of the weapons fired.
How many weapons were intercepted?
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said 99% of the launches were intercepted.
He said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.
Many of Israel’s allies, including the U.S. and the United Kingdom, stepped in to repel the attack.
The U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces intercepted more than 85 drones and missiles fired from Iran and Yemen.
World leaders urge Israel not to retaliate
World leaders are now calling for restraint as Israel weighs its response to Iran’s first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state.
On Sunday, an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council was called, in which U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres described the Middle East as “being on the brink.”
“Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint,” Guterres said.
The U.S. warned Iran to back down.
While many countries are urging both sides to exercise restraint, Israel has said they’ll respond to Iran’s attack at a time that best suits them. What exactly that looks like remains to be seen, but there is a wider fear the situation will escalate.
Were there any casualties?
The only known casualty is a 7-year-old girl who was seriously injured and is in critical condition.
The Iranian attack on Saturday, less than two weeks after an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
