The IDF says it struck military targets of terrorist organizations in Gaza.
ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: April 21, 2024, 6:09 PM
Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran early Friday morning local time, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
The strike followed Iran's attack on Saturday, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel, according to Israeli military officials. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.
Iran's weekend attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza.
- 22 reported dead in strikes on Rafah: Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry
- 14 'terrorists' killed in dayslong West Bank raid: IDF
- Netanyahu responds after Blinken says US may impose sanctions on IDF
- Israelis fired 3 missiles in limited strike
- Blinken says US 'not involved' in Israel's strike on Iran
Here's how the news is developing.
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Israeli officials said the country's Iron Dome defense system endured a big test from Iran's attack on Saturday, intercepting 99% of the 300 "threats of various types" thrown at it.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari, launched 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more than 120 ballistic missiles and more than 30 cruise missiles in the attack.
Hagari said "99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted -- a very significant strategic achievement."
Hagari said the attack resulted in only one known Israeli casualty, a 7-year-old girl who was severely injured when she was struck by shrapnel apparently from an intercepted missile.
Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant held a discussion with IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi regarding the developing report on U.S. intentions to impose sanctions against the IDF’s Netzach Yehuda battalion, an Israeli military unit operating in the West Bank.
"Any attempt to criticize an entire unit casts a heavy shadow on the actions of the IDF, which operates to protect the citizens of Israel," Gallant said in a statement. "Damage to one battalion, affects the entire defense establishment – this is not the right path for partners and friends."
Gallant urged the U.S. not to impose sanctions on the unit.
"Our friends and our enemies are closely watching the ties between Israel and the United States, now more than ever," Gallant said. "I call on the U.S. Administration to withdraw its intention to impose sanctions on the Netzach Yehuda battalion."
Amid reports of possible sanctions, Gallant recently completed a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Earlier today, Minister Gallant also held a discussion with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew.
-ABC News' William Gretsky
Two strikes were launched on the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing 22 people, including 18 children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
At least one blast occurred at the Al-Shabora refugee camp in Rafah, a spokesperson for the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah told ABC News.
The hospital spokesperson told ABC News doctors were able to rescue an unborn baby whose mother was killed in the blast at Al-Shabora camp. Officials identified the mother as Sabreen Mohamed Al-Sakani.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strikes, telling ABC News, "At the given times, the IDF struck several military targets of the terrorist organizations in Gaza including military compounds, launch posts and armed terrorists."
-ABC News' Helena Skinner and Victoria Beaule
Israeli forces have withdrawn after a dayslong raid in the Nur Shams area of the Tulkarm camp in the West Bank left 14 "terrorists" dead, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Israel Border Police forces "completed extensive counterterrorism activity based on IDF and ISA (Israel Security Authority) intelligence in the area of Nur Shams," the IDF said in a statement.
During the raid, which began Friday, "the forces eliminated 14 terrorists in close-quarters combat, apprehended 15 wanted suspects, seized numerous weapons, and destroyed dozens of explosive devices as well as two terror explosives laboratories," according to the IDF statement.
The IDF said all of the terrorists were killed during fire exchanges with Israeli forces.
Since the raid started, nine IDF soldiers and an Israel Border Police officer were "lightly to moderately" injured in the fighting, according to the IDF.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society, the first responder service in the West Bank, also said 14 people were killed as a result of the raid.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the department will be announcing his determinations regarding the Israel Defense Forces under the Leahy Law -- which empowers the secretary of state to withhold funding from units of a foreign military accused of human rights violations -- "in the coming days."
The State Department could announce sanctions against the IDF and withhold aid to the military.
"I think it's fair to say that you'll see results very soon. I've made determinations, you can expect to see them in the days ahead," he told press gathered for G7 meetings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a statement on X saying sanctions must not be imposed on the IDF.
"In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials. At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low," Netanyahu said Saturday.
-ABC News' Chris Boccia and Victoria Beaule
Three missiles were fired from Israeli fighter aircraft outside of Iran in Friday morning’s very limited strike, according to a senior U.S. official.
The Israelis were targeting an air defense radar site near Isfahan that’s part of the protection of the Natanz nuclear facility, the official said. The first assessment is that the strike took out the site, but assessment hasn’t been completed, the official said.
The strike was intended to send a signal to Iran that Israel has these capabilities, but was not looking to escalate the situation, according to the official.
