*We will stand with the people of Israel, says White House
Following a deadly air strike on its Damascus Consulate on April 1, which killed 16 people, including two Iranian generals, Iran yesterday launched retaliatory drones’ attacks at Israel directly from its territory, the Israeli army said.
The move has marked a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes.
But the United States government quickly declared support for Israel, saying it will stand with the people of Israel.
Tehran had vowed to avenge the April 1 strike.
The attack will escalate the tension in the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which has recorded high casualty.
The United States had earlier warned that Iran could launch a major attack on Israel with more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles aimed at military targets inside the country.
The US State Department has issued a travel advisory to Americans in Israel not to move outside major cities in order to be protected by the Dome missile defence system.
While addressing the nation, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country is ready for the attack and will respond accordingly.
“Citizens of Israel, in recent years, and even more so in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran,” Netanyahu said.
“Our defence systems are deployed, and we are prepared for any scenario, both in defence and offence. The State of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, the public is strong.”
The US President, Joe Biden, on Friday, said the country would defend Israel in the event of an attack from Iran.
“We will support Israel; we will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden said.
Earlier yesterday Israel had warned that Iran would suffer the “consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further” as fears grew of wider conflict more than six months into Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza.
