The Israeli military says it shot down 99% of more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Tehran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on January 7, 2024. © RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP
Israel has successfully repelled Iran’s massive drone and missile attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. His comments come after the Israeli military claimed to have intercepted 99% of the incoming aerial objects.
Over the weekend, Tehran launched an “extensive” barrage on the Jewish state, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said included more than 300 missiles of various types and kamikaze drones. The attack came in retaliation for what Iran claims was an Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month that killed several senior Iranian military officers.
On Sunday, in his first public comments since the attack, Netanyahu issued a brief message claiming success in repelling the onslaught. “We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Read more
Those remarks were echoed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who insisted that Israel, the US and its partners “thwarted this attack in a way that is unparalleled.” He also said that the attack helped the world see “the true face of Iran,” which he described as a “terrorist state.”
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari assessed that “99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted,” hailing the development as “a very significant strategic achievement.” He said that it was based on the technological superiority of the IDF and the support of a strong coalition.
At the same time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Tehran had managed to hit and destroy “important military targets,” without providing further details. The IDF earlier acknowledged that one of its military bases sustained minor damage.
