Over 100 drones launched by Iran and its proxies at Israel were intercepted on Friday morning, as Israelis continued bracing for further retaliation after the IDF launched Operation Rising Lion, reportedly destroying Iran’s main enrichment site in Natanz and killing Iran’s top three military officers. 

“Iran launched over 100 drones at Israel and we are working to intercept them,” IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin said, hours after Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites and eliminated senior military figures, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami. 

Three hours later, Israeli media reported that the drones had been shot down and the IDF Home Front Command lifted its directive for Israelis to stay near their safe rooms and shelters.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on X prior to the drone strike that Israel “should anticipate a severe punishment … With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared itself for a bitter painful fate, which it will definitely see.” 

Some of the projectiles were launched from Iraq, and the IDF prepared for possible launches from Lebanon and Yemen, where the Houthis have shot missiles provided by Iran at Israel every few days in recent months.

Jordan reported intercepting some Iranian UAVs over its territory, saying that it will not allow Iran to violate its airspace. 

While President Donald Trump said the U.S. will defend Israel from Iranian retaliation, other Western allies who assisted when Iran shot hundreds of missiles at the Jewish state in the April 2024 attack did not. The U.K. does not plan to help Israel, the Times of London’s defense editor, Larisa Brown, posted on X, in contrast with October, when it sent two fighter jets and a refueling tanker to the region after Israel struck Iranian military sites. Paris affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear program, but stopped short of publicly offering support.

The IDF Home Front Command ordered all schools and non-emergency offices closed on Friday and Saturday and told all Israelis to stay close to shelters and safe rooms for much of Friday morning. “Many alerts are expected in this campaign,” Home Front Command head Maj.-Gen. Roni Milo said in a message to the public.

Ben-Gurion Airport was evacuated and Israel’s airspace was closed. Israelis were ordered not to gather in synagogues; the chief rabbis said to listen to the Home Front Command instructions and to read Psalms. The Tel Aviv Pride Parade scheduled for Friday and the Hostage Families Forum demonstration scheduled for Saturday were also canceled.

The strikes on Iran came a day after Trump’s 60-day deadline to reach a deal with the Islamic Republic expired — though the president said he planned to continue talks — and after the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report saying that Iran violated the non-proliferation treaty. Iran is thought to have enough highly enriched uranium to make 10 nuclear weapons in under two weeks, in addition to several months to assemble a bomb using that material. 

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said that Israel launched the strikes because “the time had come, we had reached the point of no return. We could not wait to act, we had no choice. Recent and distant history taught us that when faced with ambitions to destroy us, we cannot bow our heads and as such, we will fight to ensure our existence.”

“Freedom is granted to those who are ready to fight for it,” Zamir added. “We are embarking on this campaign together with one goal before us, to ensure a safer future for the State of Israel and its citizens. With faith, together and in a joint effort, we will win.”

Zamir added that “beyond the technology, the arms and plans of action, we carry an additional unique element, the Jewish and Zionist spirit beating within us. In the name of this spirit and with faith in the justice of our way, our actions will speak for us.” 

The IDF said that it struck over 100 targets in Iran. Among them was an underground facility in which the top officers of the IRGC air force were gathered, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz’s office. Israel also targeted IRGC commander Hossein Salami, and senior officers in the Iranian military, including its chief of staff and his deputy, as well as top officials in the regime’s missile and air-defense programs, as well as nuclear scientists. The Mossad established a drone base in Iran, from which strikes on Iranian missile systems were carried out.

The strikes also reportedly targeted the areas of nuclear sites in Natanz and Isfahan, with some reports saying the Natanz enrichment site was destroyed, and at least six military bases, including Parchin. 

The IDF called up thousands of reservists, including in the Air Force, Home Front Command, intelligence and the Technology and Logistics Directorate.

The Israeli National Security Council sent a warning to Israelis abroad to avoid displaying Jewish and Israeli symbols in public, attending large Jewish or Israeli events, and posting their location or future plans on social media.

An Israeli government source admitted that some public statements made prior to the attacks were made to trick Iran and the public, including a message sent to journalists that Thursday night’s security cabinet meeting was about hostage negotiations. The source would not confirm whether that strategy included a message that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad head David Barnea would be meeting with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of talks with Iran in Oman; Dermer and Barnea were scheduled to leave on Friday, but the former appeared in photos taken in Israel released by the government early Friday morning. 

Israel was reportedly concerned that remarks by Trump that Israel “might attack” would tip off Iran to its plans, and asked the president to subsequently post on social media that “the US seeks a diplomatic solution.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held calls with his counterparts in Germany, Italy and the E.U.to inform them about Israel’s actions against the Iranian threat. 

“The whole world saw and understood that the Iranians were not ready to stop and we had to stop them. The latest IAEA report illustrated the serious violations,” Sa’ar said. “We know that challenging days lie ahead, but we have no other choice.” 

The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry said it “condemned in the strongest terms” the Israeli strikes, and “expressed its deep concern for maintaining stability and security in the region.” 

Saudi Arabia also released a “strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran.”