Tehran [Iran], April 14 : In a major escalation amid the ongoing military offensive on Hamas in Gaza, Iran launched several drones and missiles towards Israel in retaliation to the air strike on its consulate in Syria that resulted in the killing of three top generals, The Times of Israel reported.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement confirming its launch of an attack on Israel, saying it was in response to the Israel Defence Force's (IDF) strike on a consular compound in Damascus in which several IRGC members were killed, including two generals, earlier this month.
The IRGC says it will hit specific targets in Israel with dozens of drones and missiles, apparently cruise missiles.
This comes nearly two weeks after Israel carried out an air strike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including three top generals.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also confirmed the launch of Iranian drones towards their territory, saying they were on high alert.
"Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel," Israel's army's spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said late on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.
"We are on high alert and ready," he added, speaking in a televised address, saying the drones would take several hours before reaching Israel's airspace.
The Times of Israel reported the launch of Tehran's promised reprisal for the consulate strike, citing viral footage circulating on social media, purportedly showing an Iranian Shahed 136 drone streaking the skies over Iraq en-route to Israel.
Israel has been on heightened alert since its strike on Damascus on April 1, while not issuing any public or official statement on the attack.
Iran vowed revenge, raising fears of a further escalation in tensions in West Asia amid the fierce offensive on Hamas in response to the terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7, last year.
Earlier, on Saturday, Iranian armed forces seized a container ship linked to Israel near the Strait of Hormuz.
Responding to the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was prepared for a "direct attack from Iran".
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel was "closely monitoring a planned attack" against it by Iran and its allies in the region.
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