Iran launched a massive drone and missile strike on Israel on the night of 14 April. The attack lasted more than five hours and was a response to an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the diplomatic quarter of Damascus in early April.
On 1 April, the Israeli Air Force launched a missile strike on the Iranian Consulate General in the Syrian capital Damascus. The attack killed 13 people, including 7 Iranian military advisers, among them two generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Iranian military continued to attack Israeli territory with drones and rockets throughout the night of 14 April. The number of drones and missiles varies from source to source, with the US broadcaster ABC reporting that about 500 drones and 150 missiles were involved in the attack, and the New York Times reporting 185 drones and 146 missiles. According to Sky News Arabia TV channel, Iran used Shahed-238 drones and ballistic missiles. It was claimed that only military targets would be the target of Iranian strikes.
“Iran has launched a large-scale coordinated attack on Israel. The Iranian regime fired drones weighing over 200kg, cruise and ballistic missiles at the State of Israel. Together with allies and partners across the region, we are acting to protect Israel from Iran’s attack. We have succeeded in intercepting the vast majority of missiles and drones outside Israel,” said Israel Defence Forces spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
The drone launches were recorded from Iran’s western provinces, including Kermanshah. Iran’s state agency IRNA reported that the Iranian Armed Forces struck an Israeli Air Force airbase in the Negev Desert with Khaybar ballistic missiles. There is no information about casualties as a result of the attack. According to Daniel Hagari, the facility suffered minimal damage.
The wave of Iranian strikes on Israel went down only by morning, the attack lasted more than five hours. Israeli TV channel N12 claimed that Iranian attack drones and cruise missiles failed to reach Israel.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the strikes on Israel are carried out in self-defence “in response to repeated military aggression”.
Earlier, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the Israeli army used white phosphorus munitions prohibited by international conventions in strikes on sites in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
