Iran Fires Back at Israel

Explosions were reported over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Friday evening as Iran launched a broad retaliatory strike against Israel, marking a significant escalation in an already volatile regional conflict.

Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, generals, and scientists killed 78 people and wounded more than 320 on Friday, Iran’s ambassador told the U.N. Security Council, but he said “the overwhelming majority” of victims were civilians. Israel described the new wave of hostilities as the beginning of “Operation Rising Lion.”

The ambassador spoke shortly after Iran retaliated with a barrage of long-range missiles targeting Israel’s commercial capital, Tel Aviv, wounding at least 34 people, Israel’s paramedic service said.

Iran had warned Israel that it would pay a “heavy price” for its strikes. Iran's state-run news agency IRNA claimed that the country's air defense systems had shot down at least two Israeli fighter jets, though the report could not be independently verified. The fate of the pilots remains unknown.

Read More: Israel Gets the War It Wanted

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Effie Defrin said, according to CNN, that Iran had launched more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory. Such drones can reportedly take up to seven hours to reach Israel from Iran.

“All [aerial] defense arrays have been operating to intercept the threats,” Defrin was quoted as saying. “This is a different event to what we’ve experienced thus far, and we’re expecting difficult hours. We should show resilience and patience.”

Around 9:30 a.m. in Tel Aviv (2:30 a.m. ET), an IDF official told the media that Israel’s military had begun to shoot down Iranian drones. About two hours later, the IDF said, according to Times of Israel correspondent Emanuel Fabian, that it had “control over the situation,” though it did not specify at the time whether it had shot down all the drones.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier said Israel should expect an “immediate” retaliation from Tehran following the strikes, which came a day after the U.S. began evacuating embassy personnel across the Middle East amid concerns of possible escalation of conflict. The State Department on Thursday evening directed embassy employees and their families in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza to take shelter.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iran to return to nuclear negotiations, warning that continued escalation would lead to further loss of life. “There has already been great death and destruction,” he wrote in a post on social media, “but there is still time to make this slaughter come to an end.”

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff warned Senate Republicans last week, according to a report by Axios, that Iran’s response to an attack by Israel could involve hundreds of missiles launched at Israeli and U.S. sites that could overwhelm defense capabilities and result in mass casualties.

Israel braces for attack

A number of moves were made within Israel in seeming preparation for an attack, including the cancellation of a Pride parade scheduled for Friday in Tel Aviv.

Israeli authorities instructed all hospitals to move their services to protected areas and underground facilities, according to the Times of Israel, and they asked the public to only come to hospitals for urgent cases.

Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem was in “full emergency mode,” the Associated Press reported, and it was releasing patients whose conditions permitted as well as cancelling non-urgent operations.

The Times of Israel also reported that Israel Manufacturers Association president Dr. Ron Tomer said essential industries will continue to operate throughout any potential emergency “so that supplies will be available to the public throughout the country at any given moment.” Tomer warned against hoarding, saying “there is no need to storm the shelves,” in an effort to prevent shortages of foods, medicines, and other essential products.

And Reuters reported that Israeli airline Israir, as well as airlines Arkia and El Al, would evacuate and relocate its aircraft from the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv as part of a contingency plan developed in recent days.

International involvement

Israel’s National Security Council also warned Israelis overseas to “take precautions” as “terrorist elements will seek to carry out acts of revenge against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world.” 

Jordan, which shares a border with Israel, announced early Friday that its airspace would be closed in light of the “military escalation” in the region. Iran and Iraq have similarly closed their respective airspaces.

Jordanian state media reported that its Air Force jets and air defense systems intercepted “several missiles and drones” that entered its airspace Friday morning, adding that these were intercepted “based on military assessments indicating that the missiles and drones were likely to fall within Jordanian territory, including populated areas, posing a potential threat to civilian safety.”

Dubai-based international airline Emirates also announced flight cancellations to and from Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon and announced that customers connecting through Dubai with their final destinations in those countries “will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin until further notice.” 

Other countries are reportedly choosing not to get involved. Larisa Brown, defense editor at The Times of London, posted on X: “UK defence sources say there aren’t any UK plans to help protect Israel. Clearly this could change throughout the course of day.”

In response to a request from TIME about the report, a British government spokesperson pointed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s and Foreign Minister David Lammy’s statements urging restraint and deescalation. The spokesperson noted that the U.K. did not play a part in the military action in Iran and that British nationals should monitor official travel advisories.