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April 13 (UPI) -- Iran on Saturday launched more than 300 drones at Israel, according to Israeli defense officials. Israel Defense Forces in a statement said Iran launched unmanned aerial vehicles "from within its territory toward Israel."
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Alerts started to sound across Israel by 2 a.m. local time the IDF said.
Israeli defense officials said they were tracking the drones and aimed to intercept them in the hours before they reach their targets. Media outlets reported bursts of rocket fire from the country's air defense system streaking across the night sky.
The U.S. military reported it shot down some 70-plus Iranian drones and three ballistic missiles that night. The United States is able to shoot down incoming drones from Iran via assets in Iraq and Syria.
At around 8:20 p.m. EDT, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said forces have "intercepted a vast majority" of the strikes from Iran.
Hagari said Iran had launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel by the time the barrage had ended.
Virtually all of the weapons were intercepted before entering Israeli territory. A few ballistic missiles that got through only cause minor damage to one military base, Hagari said.
A 10-year-old girl in the Negev region of southern Israel was injured by shrapnel from an Israeli interceptor missile, according to Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services.
The MDA said the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment. There have been no reports of injuries from Iranian strikes.
Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel for its airstrike on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus on on April 1, which killed 16 people including seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
President Joe Biden in the past few days had warned that an Iranian retaliation could happen very soon.
The president on Saturday cut his weekend vacation short and returned to Washington after IRGC members earlier in the day captured an Israeli-related container ship in the Strait of Hormuz and rerouted it to Iranian waters.
Biden arrived at the White House at approximately 5:04 p.m. EDT and had been convening with the National Security Council in the situation room, according to White House officials.
"Our commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad," Biden said in a post on X.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reiterated Biden's "ironclad" commitment in a call to Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, according to a statement from the Department of Defense.
Austin also said Israel can count on "full U.S. support" should Iran attack again.
At 7:18 p.m. EDT, Iran's mission to the United Nations said in a post on X that the drone attack on Israel was "in response to the Zionist regime's aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus," and that "the matter can be deemed concluded."
"However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe," the post read. "It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. MUST STAY AWAY!"
International leaders condemned Iran's actions on Saturday. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a post on X said he condemns the attack in "the strongest terms."
"Iran has once again demonstrated that it's intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard," the post read. "The U.K. will continue to stand up for Israel's security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq."
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on X that the Netherlands and other countries had told Iran "loud and clear" not to attack Israel and that "further escalation must be avoided."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on X that Iran's actions "could plunge an entire region into chaos."
"Iran and its proxies must stop this immediately," the post read. "In these hours, we stand firmly by Israel."
The United Nations Security Council plans to convene an emergency meeting at 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday per Israel's request.
