Iran launches retaliatory attack on Israel with hundreds of drones, missiles

An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on April 14, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 14 April 2024
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Iran launches retaliatory attack on Israel with hundreds of drones, missiles

  • Iran launches first ever direct attack on Israel, risking major escalation as US pledges support for Tel Aviv
  • Iran has vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1

JERUSALEM/DUBAI: Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel late on Saturday in its first ever direct attack on Israeli territory, risking a major escalation as the United States pledged “ironclad” backing for Israel.
Sirens wailed and journalists in Israel said they heard distant heavy thuds and bangs from what local media called aerial interceptions of explosive drones. The ambulance service said there was no immediate word of casualties.
Israel’s military said more than 100 drones were launched from Iran, with security sources in Iraq and Jordan reporting dozens seen flying overhead and US officials saying the US military had shot some down.
Israel’s Channel 12 TV cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying there would be a “significant response” to the attack.

Iran’s state news agency cited a source saying its military had also launched a wave of ballistic missiles. Israel’s military also said missiles were fired, but there was no immediate report of these striking in Israel.
Iran has vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Guards officers including two senior commanders and said its strike was a punishment for “Israeli crimes.” Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.
“Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” the Iranian mission to the United Nations said, warning the US to “stay away.” However, it also said Iran now “deemed the matter concluded.”
US President Joe Biden, who on Friday had warned Iran against an attack, cut short a visit to his home state of Delaware to meet national security advisers in the White House Situation Room, an official said. He pledged to stand with Israel.
The Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, now in its seventh month, has driven up tensions in the region, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria and drawing long-range fire at Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.
British maritime security company Ambrey said in a statement that drones were also reportedly launched against Israel by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group.
Those clashes now threaten to morph into a direct open conflict pitting Iran and its regional allies against Israel and its main supporter the United States, with regional power Egypt urging “utmost restraint.”
US and British warplanes were involved in shooting down some Israel-bound drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, Channel 12 reported. Three US officials said the US military had shot down drone aircraft without saying how many.

Escalation
“This is a severe and dangerous escalation. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest level of readiness ahead of this large-scale attack from Iran,” said Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose official jet took off shortly after the attack began, convened the war cabinet at a military headquarters in Tel Aviv, his office said.
Israel’s military said sirens would sound in any threatened areas and that its defenses were poised to deal with the drones, which it said were “explosive.”
“We are used to having around 20 seconds to get to shelters when missiles come in. Here, the warning comes hours ahead of time. It naturally raises the anxiety level among the Israeli public,” said Nir Dvori, a Channel 12 TV correspondent on social media.
Israel’s military told residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to stay close to bomb shelters, putting the area on standby for possible impact from drone strikes.
Israel and Lebanon said they were closing their airspace on Saturday night. Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defenses to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, two regional security sources said.
Residents in several Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial activity.
Syria, an ally of Iran, said it was putting its ground-to-air defense systems around the capital and major bases on high alert, army sources there said.

Condemnation
The European Union, Britain, France, Mexico, Czechia, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands all condemned Iran’s attack.
Israel has been bracing for an Iranian response to the Damascus consulate strike since last week, when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “must be punished and shall be” for an operation he called equivalent to one on Iranian soil.
Biden said on Friday that his only message to Iran was “Don’t,” but added that “we are devoted to the defense of Israel.”
Iran’s main ally in the region, the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah that has been exchanging fire with Israel since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, said early on Sunday it had fired rockets at an Israeli base.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries.
MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working “with the relevant authorities” for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.
MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel’s activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Iran of piracy.

'IRGC seize commercial ship'

For days, Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have threatened to “slap” Israel for its Syria strike.
Iran has largely avoided directly attacking Israel, despite its targeted killings of nuclear scientists and sabotage campaigns on Iran’s atomic sites. Iran has targeted Israeli or Jewish-linked sites through proxy forces.
Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip has inflamed decade-old tensions in the Middle East, and any new attack threatens to escalate that conflict into a wider regional war.
Flight-tracking data showed the airspace over Jordan empty, while few flights continued on their north-south routes over Iraq. A sole Middle East Airlines flight from Dubai to Beirut remained airborne over Syria.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported heavy Israeli airstrikes and shelling on multiple locations in south Lebanon following the launch of drones from Iran. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been clashing with Israeli forces in the border area for more than six months.
Earlier Saturday, commandos from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel.
Iran’s state-run IRNA said a special forces unit of the Guard’s navy carried out the attack on the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime.
Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC. Geneva-based MSC acknowledged the seizure and said 25 crew members were on the ship.
“We are working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their wellbeing, and safe return of the vessel,” MSC said.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the crew was made up of Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Russian and Estonian nationals and urged Iran to release them and the vessel.
IRNA said the Guard would take the vessel into Iranian territorial waters.
A Middle East defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, provided video of the attack to The Associated Press in which Iranian commandos are seen rappelling onto a stack of containers on the vessel’s deck.
The video corresponded with known details of the MSC Aries. The commandos rappelled from what appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the Guard and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have used before to raid ships.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on nations to list the Guard as a terrorist organization. Iran “is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” Katz said.
The US, Israel’s main backer, has stood by the country despite growing concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza killing more than 33,600 Palestinians and wounding over 76,200 more. Israel’s war began after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.
The Pentagon said Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart “to discuss urgent regional threats ... and made clear that Israel could count on full US support to defend Israel against any attacks by Iran and its regional proxies.” National security adviser Jake Sullivan also spoke with his counterpart to reinforce Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.”


Iraqi FM arrives in Tehran to attend regional security forum

Updated 8 sec ago
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Iraqi FM arrives in Tehran to attend regional security forum

  • The Tehran Dialogue Forum aims to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation

DUBAI: Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein arrived in Tehran on Sunday to take part in a forum on regional security, Iraqi state news agency INA reported.

The Tehran Dialogue Forum aims to “discuss ways to enhance regional security and joint cooperation, and exchange views on the political and economic challenges facing the region,” according to the INA report.

Hussein is expected to take part in sessions at the forum, which will host ministers, senior officials, research center leaders, and international experts.

He was received by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle Eastern and Gulf Affairs Mohammad Ali Beyk, alongside other Iranian Foreign Ministry officials and Nasir Abdul Mohsen Abdullah, Iraq’s ambassador to Iran, at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.

“During his visit, the minister will meet with a number of senior officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and regional and international issues of common interest,” the report added. 


Qatari PM meets Iranian president in Tehran

Updated 7 min 47 sec ago
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Qatari PM meets Iranian president in Tehran

  • The two officials discussed enhancing cooperation between their countries, particularly in economy

DUBAI: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian received Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, in Tehran on Sunday for high-level talks, Qatar news agency reported. 

The two officials discussed enhancing cooperation between their countries, particularly in economy and trade.

They also reviewed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as other regional and international issues of mutual concern.


After PKK move, healing Turkiye-Kurd ties needs ‘paradigm shift’: Ocalan

Updated 19 May 2025
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After PKK move, healing Turkiye-Kurd ties needs ‘paradigm shift’: Ocalan

  • Ocalan is unlikely to be freed, as his life would likely come under threat, but the conditions of his imprisonment are likely to be “eased,” officials say

ISTANBUL: A “major” shift is needed to repair broken ties between the Turkish state and the country’s Kurdish minority following the historic decision of the Kurdistan Workers Party to disarm, its jailed founder said Sunday.
The message from Abdullah Ocalan was transmitted through a delegation of the pro-Kurdish DEM party who visited the Imrali prison island near Istanbul where Ocalan has been serving life in solitary confinement since 1999.
It was their first visit since the May 12 disarmament announcement, which sought to draw a line under conflict that began in 1984 when the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) took up arms. More than 40,000 people have died since.
“What we are doing involves a major paradigm shift,” wrote the 76-year-old former guerrilla.
“The Turkish-Kurdish relationship is like a brotherly relationship that is broken. Brothers and sisters fight, but they can’t exist without each other,” he said, calling for “a new agreement based on the concept of brotherhood.”
“We must clear away, one-by-one, all the traps and minefields that spoil this relationship, we must repair the broken roads and bridges.”
Only DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan visited Ocalan this time, with lawyer Ozgur Erol, following the recent death of veteran Turkish peacemaker Sirri Sureyya Onder.
Onder, who was Turkiye’s deputy parliamentary speaker, died on May 3, after suffering a cardiac arrest and just days before the PKK’s historic decision.
He had spent years trying to end the conflict with Turkiye’s Kurdish minority in efforts that earned respect from across the political spectrum.
Since December, he had been part of a delegation that visited Ocalan several times, shuttling messages between him and Turkiye’s political establishment and paving the way for the PKK move.
“I had a hankering to speak to Sirri Sureyya Onder one last time,” Ocalan wrote, describing him as “a wise person for Turkiye” and saying he left behind “a cherished memory that we need to keep alive.”
The government has said it will carefully monitor the disarmament process and in turn, observers expect the government to show a new openness to the Kurds who make up about 20 percent of the 85 million population.
Ocalan is unlikely to be freed, as his life would likely come under threat, but the conditions of his imprisonment are likely to be “eased,” officials say.


Israel says it will allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza after nearly 3 months of blockade

Updated 18 May 2025
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Israel says it will allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza after nearly 3 months of blockade

  • Israel is pressuring Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire that would free hostages from Gaza but not necessarily end the war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israel says it will allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza after a nearly three-month blockade to avoid a “hunger crisis,” after global experts on food crises warned of famine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his Cabinet approved a decision to allow a “basic” amount of food into the territory of over 2 million people. Israel imposed a complete blockade on humanitarian aid starting March 2.
Netanyahu said allowing some aid in would enable Israel to expand its new military operation, which began Saturday.
It was not immediately clear when aid would enter Gaza, or how. Netanyahu said Israel would work to ensure that Hamas will not control aid distribution and ensure the aid does not reach Hamas militants.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel launched “extensive” new ground operations in Gaza. Airstrikes in its new offensive killed at least 103 people, including dozens of children, overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and medics said. The bombardment forced northern Gaza’s main hospital to close as it reported direct strikes.
Israel began the offensive — the largest since it shattered a ceasefire in March — with the aim of seizing territory and displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Israel is pressuring Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire that would free hostages from Gaza but not necessarily end the war. Hamas says it wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and a path to ending the war as part of any deal.
“When the Jews want a truce, Hamas refuses, and when Hamas wants a truce, the Jews refuse it. Both sides agree to exterminate the Palestinian people,” said Jabaliya resident Abu Mohammad Yassin, who was among those fleeing the new offensive on foot or in donkey carts. “For God’s sake, have mercy on us. We are tired of displacement.”
Israel’s military, which recently called up tens of thousands of reservists, said the ground operations are throughout the Palestinian territory’s north and south. Israel’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said that plans include “dissecting” the strip.
Before the announcement, airstrikes killed more than 48 people — including 18 children and 13 women — in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which said it struggled to count the dead because of the condition of bodies.
In northern Gaza, a strike on a home in Jabaliya killed nine members of a family, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency services. Another strike on a residence there killed 10, including seven children and a woman, according to the civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Israel’s military had no immediate comment. Its statement announcing the ground operations said preliminary strikes over the past week killed dozens of militants and struck more than 670 targets. Israel blames civilian casualties on Hamas because the militant group operates from civilian areas.
Shortly afterward, Israel’s military said that it intercepted a projectile from central Gaza and another fell in an open area, with no injuries reported.
Talks in Qatar
Israel had said it would wait until the end of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East before launching its offensive, saying it was giving ceasefire efforts a chance. Trump didn’t visit Israel on his trip that ended Friday.
Netanyahu’s office said his negotiating team in Qatar was “working to realize every chance for a deal,” including one that would end fighting in exchange for the release of all remaining 58 hostages, Hamas’ exile from Gaza and the disarmament of the territory.
Hamas has refused to leave Gaza or disarm.
Israel ended the previous eight-week ceasefire in March. Gaza’s Health Ministry has said almost 3,000 people have been killed since then.
Days before resuming the war, Israel cut off all food, medicine and other supplies to Gaza. The blockade is now in its third month, with global food security experts warning of famine across the territory.
Frustration in Israel has been rising. A small but growing number of Israelis are refusing to show up for military service, even risking imprisonment. Other Israelis have been displaying photos of children killed in Gaza during weekly rallies demanding a deal to free all hostages and end the war.
The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
Hospital cites Israeli ‘siege’
Health officials said fighting around the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza and an Israeli military “siege” prompted it to shut down. It was the main medical facility in the north after Israeli strikes last year forced the Kamal Adwan and Beit Hanoun hospitals to stop offering services.
“There is direct targeting on the hospital, including the intensive care unit,” Indonesian Hospital director Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan said in a statement, adding that no one could reach the facility that had about 30 patients and 15 medical staff inside.
Israel’s military said that troops were operating against militant infrastructure sites in northern Gaza, including the area “directly adjacent” to the hospital.
Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals, accusing Hamas of being active in and around the facilities. Human rights groups and UN-backed experts have accused Israel of systematically destroying Gaza’s health care system.
In northern Gaza, at least 43 people were killed in strikes, according to first responders from the Health Ministry and civil defense. Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital said 15 children and 12 women were among the dead.
A drone strike Sunday afternoon killed at least seven Palestinians near a school sheltering displaced people northwest of Gaza City, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency service.
Other strikes in central Gaza killed at least 12 people, hospitals said. One in Zweida town killed seven people, including two children and four women, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir Al-Balah.
In Gaza City, Um Mahmoud Al-Aloul lay across the shrouded body of her daughter, Nour Al-Aloul.
“You took my soul with you,” she cried. “I used to turn off my phone from how much you called.”


Egypt recovers antiquities smuggled to Australia: ministry

Updated 18 May 2025
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Egypt recovers antiquities smuggled to Australia: ministry

  • Officials say Egypt has successfully retrieved around 30,000 smuggled artefacts over the past decade

CAIRO: Egypt’s antiquities ministry said Sunday it had retrieved 21 artefacts, including a funerary figurine and an eye of Horus amulet, that had been smuggled illegally to Australia.
Most of the items had been “on display at a renowned auction house in Australia, before it became clear that there were no proper ownership documents,” Supreme Council of Antiquities chief Mohamed Ismail Khaled said.
The collection, which also included a fragment of a wooden sarcophagus, was handed over to the Egyptian embassy in Canberra.
Officials did not say how or when the pieces had been smuggled out of the country.
Such thefts are not uncommon, however.
During the 2011 uprising that ousted Egypt’s longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, looters ransacked museums and archaeological sites, spiriting away thousands of priceless pieces.
Many of the stolen artefacts later appeared on the international market or ended up in private collections.
Officials say Egypt has successfully retrieved around 30,000 smuggled artefacts over the past decade.
Six years ago, the country’s embassy in Australia also received a long-lost fourth and final part of a stone stela dating back to the fourth century BC.
The stela, or information slab, disappeared from an excavation site in Luxor in 1995.
Known as the Sheshn Nerfertem stela, it was smuggled in pieces to Switzerland, from where three pieces were repatriated in 2017.
The now-complete stela, and the artefacts repatriated from Australia, are now “at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir for restoration in preparation for display in a temporary exhibition,” the antiquities ministry said.