The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Friday morning that more than 100 attack drones dispatched by Iran were making their way toward the Jewish state.
"Iran launched over 100 UAVs at Israel and we are working to intercept them," IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ephraim "Effie" Defrin said in a statement. He added, "The IDF is on high alert—we have been preparing for this operation for a long time."
The unmanned aerial vehicles launched from the Islamic Republic were expected to take several hours to reach Israel. According to Channel 12, the Israeli Air Force was intercepting drones, some over Saudi Arabia and some "elsewhere."
Jordanian media reported that air-raid sirens were activated in the country due to UAVs passing through its airspace on their way to Israel.
Two unnamed Israeli officials told the Reuters agency that Jerusalem was preparing for an Iranian military response in the coming hours, including the possible launch of hundreds of ballistic missiles.
More than 200 Israeli Air Force jets attacked dozens of targets, including military and nuclear sites, in a "preemptive, precise, combined offensive" strike against Iran's nuclear program early on Friday.
The IDF said the attack was based on "high-quality intelligence" and "in response to the Iranian regime's ongoing aggression against Israel."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation, dubbed "Rising Lion," would "continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat," vowing to stop "the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival."
Air-raid sirens were heard throughout Israel around 3 a.m. on Friday, warning of an immediate emergency situation on the home front. The Israeli military subsequently announced a ban on all "educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, except for essential sectors."
Amid the threat of an Iranian attack, Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv has been evacuated, with all flights suspended. Israeli airlines are reportedly moving their planes to foreign airports.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that "the Zionist regime sealed for itself a bitter and painful destiny" with the military operation inside his country.
Jerusalem "should await a harsh response," the ayatollah threatened.
He confirmed Israeli reports that several Iranian military leaders and scientists were slain in the operation, but vowed that "their successors and colleagues will immediately pick up their work."
