Israel on Sunday hailed its successful air defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack launched by Iran on Saturday night. According to the Israel Defense Forces, more than 300 drones and missiles – ballistic and cruise – were intercepted by its air defenses, with the Middle East “boiling” once again.

Despite the fact that Israel suffered very little damage, mainly to the air base at Nafatim and a little girl was injured, the government warned people to remain alert. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in turn, celebrated the results of the attack, thanking the US and other countries for their help, but warned that “the incident is not over yet.”

“This campaign is not over yet. We have to remain vigilant … and prepare for any scenario,” he said. “At the same time, we blocked the first wave (of attacks) and we did it with great success,” he added.

Israel reopened its airspace, easing a restriction it had imposed before the attack, although schools remained closed across the country. Neighboring Jordan also opened its airspace. However, Israel remains on alert.

At the same time, the spokesman for the Israeli armed forces, Daniel Hagari, described the use of ballistic missiles as an “escalation factor”. Asked about Israel’s options and whether he would respond, he said that Israel has plans and is considering its options. “We have plans, the situation is still evolving. We are assessing the situation, we are showing the cabinet the plans and we are ready to do whatever is necessary to defend Israel.”

“We successfully intercepted 99% of the launches”

According to IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee, 99% of the launches were intercepted out of the approximately 170 drones launched by Iran – not one of them penetrated the state of Israel.

After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he promised in a short post on X victory for Israel writing: “We intercepted, we pushed back, together we will win.”

On his part, Mr US President, Joe Biden reaffirmed “America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.” In fact, he said he would convene the G7 meeting on Sunday “to coordinate a unified diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”

As he said, the US armed forces had a hand in shooting down “almost all” of the drones and missiles launched Saturday night into Sunday by Iran against Israel. He added during his telephone conversation with Netanyahu that he reaffirmed to him the “unwavering” support of the US and emphasized that “Israel has demonstrated a remarkable ability to defend itself and defeat even unprecedented attacks.”

But in reality the language indicated that the Biden administration does not want Iran’s attack to escalate into a wider military conflict. The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken he in turn reiterated US support for Israel by condemning the Iranian launches “in the strongest possible terms”, but stressed that the US is “not seeking escalation”. “I will be consulting with allies and partners in the region and around the world in the coming hours and days,” he said.

Israel and Iran have been engaged in a shadow war for years with incidents such as the Damascus strike. But Sunday’s attack was the first to be launched by Iran, despite decades of enmity between them dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel has built up over the years – often with the help of the United States – a multi-layered air defense network that includes systems capable of intercepting a variety of threats, including long-range missiles, cruise missiles, drones and short-range missiles.

That system, along with cooperation with the US and other powers, helped prevent a far more devastating attack at a time when Israel is already bogged down in its war against Hamas in Gaza and is launching small attacks in its north, in the border with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

Israel can be particularly proud of its defense success because it stands in stark contrast to the setbacks it suffered during the October 7 attack by Hamas. And while stopping the Iranian offensive could help restore Israel’s image, its next moves will be closely watched both in the region and in Western capitals.

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at noon on Sunday to discuss Iran’s attack on Israel, the presidency of the world body’s top body announced.

According to a diplomatic source, the meeting is expected to take place at 16:00 (New York time; 23:00 Greek time).