Iran attacks Israel: Live updates

Tehran has launched retaliatory strikes following a deadly airstrike that killed two Iranian generals earlier this month

An Israeli soldier stands atop a tank in a army camp near Israel's border with Gaza, April 8, 2024 © AFP / Menahem Kahana

Iran has launched a wave of drones toward Israel, after American officials warned that hundreds of drones and missiles could rain down on the Jewish state over the weekend.

Iran accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike on its consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier this month. The strike killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGS) Quds Force, including two high-ranking generals. Israel stuck to its usual policy of silence on extraterritorial assassinations, but is widely believed to have been behind the attack.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to deal Israel a “slap in the face” in response, and American officials warned on Friday that Tehran could be gearing up for a massive drone and missile strike on Israeli soil in the following 24 to 48 hours.

The Iranian response appeared to begin at midday on Saturday when IRGC commandos seized an Israeli-linked container ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

• 13 April 2024

  22:00 GMT

  Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has convened his War Cabinet in Tel Aviv. According to Netanyahu’s office, the meeting is underway in The Kirya, a central area of the city, which houses a government district and a major urban military base.

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently convening the War Cabinet, at the Kirya in Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/f9V6xhuKoe

  — Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 13, 2024