What Iran launched at Israel in its unprecedented attack, and what made it through the air defenses

Iran launched an unprecedented retaliatory attack against Israel this weekend, including hundreds of missiles and drones launched primarily from its own soil, but also by Iranian-backed groups in several other countries. Virtually everything fired at Israel was intercepted before entering the country, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which reported “very little damage” of the attack.

A 7-year-old girl, seriously injured by shrapnel, is the only known victim of the attack. The child, from a Bedouin village in the Negev desert in southern Israel, was still fighting for his life on Monday.

The Iranian assault aimed to saturate Israel and the United States air defenses with drones and cruise missiles and pave the way for Iranian ballistic missiles, two U.S. officials told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. It took several hours for the drones and missiles to head toward Israel, and alerts began sounding across the country around 2 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday).

The Israeli military said 170 drones were fired into Israel from Iran and Israeli Air Force planes shot down dozens. U.S. planes operating from bases in Saudi Arabia and Jordan shot down between 70 and 80 drones, Martin reported.

The Israeli military said none of the 170 drones launched by Iran entered Israeli territory, nor did any of the more than 30 cruise missiles fired by the Islamic republic.

Of 120 ballistic missiles fired at Israel from Iran, U.S. officials told CBS News that only five passed through Israeli and U.S. air defenses and hit Israeli territory. A U.S. official told CBS News that about half of the ballistic missiles have failed to launch or crashed in flight.

Four missiles hit Israel’s Nevatim air base, where Israeli F-35s are based, U.S. officials said, adding that the base was likely Iran’s main target because it was likely to be an F-35 -35 Israeli who carried out a deadly strike on a plane. Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital on April 1.

The weekend’s Iranian attack was the promised response to the Israeli strike in Damascus, which killed seven officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals.

One of the missiles that managed to pass through Israeli air defenses hit an airstrip at Nevatim Air Base, another hit an empty aircraft hangar, and another hit a hangar that was no longer in use. used. The Israeli military said the base remained operational.

Another ballistic missile appeared to have been aimed at a radar site in northern Israel, but missed its target, U.S. officials told Martin.

The Israeli military said several other shots were carried out from Yemen and Iraq, but none of the weapons entered Israeli territory. Dozens of rockets were also fired from Lebanon into northern Israel early Sunday morning, and Israel carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.