The Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command relaxed limitations on civilian movements late Friday morning after more than 100 Iranian drones were intercepted outside the country’s borders.
“End of shelter-in-place alert—you no longer need to remain near a protected space,” Home Front Command announced in a statement. The military clarified that a ban on public gathering remains in place.
Earlier, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin had said, “Iran launched over 100 UAVs at Israel and we are working to intercept them.” Defrin added, “The IDF is on high alert—we have been preparing for this operation for a long time.”
According to Channel 12, the Israeli Air Force intercepted the 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 the Jewish state. Some were reportedly intercepted by Amman.
Two unnamed Israeli officials had 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.
Earlier on Friday, 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.
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.”