Iran launches dozens of drones toward Israel / live update

What we’re covering

• Israeli air defenses are intercepting some Iranian strikes after Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Israel Saturday in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month. 
• There are reports of explosions and apparent intercepts across Israel, including Tel Aviv, and the West Bank. A CNN team is hearing explosions and sirens as intercepts occur over Jerusalem. 
• US air defense systems in the Middle East also intercepted some Iranian drones, according to two US officials. US President Joe Biden, who met with his national security team in Washington on Saturday, said in a social media post the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security “against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”
• The retaliatory attack comes as Iran seized a container ship Saturday near the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions in the region as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. According to Iranian state media, the vessel is managed by a company linked to an Israeli businessman.
• US forces have not been targeted in Iran’s attack on Israel or by Iranian proxies so far, according to two US officials. They noted no reports of any US troops being injured. Officials caution they are still aware of ongoing launches and taking force protection measures.
• Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country has responded to what it called “the aggressive act of the Zionist regime against the Iranian embassy in Damascus.” In a statement released on Telegram, the ministry said Iran’s armed forces were “exercising the inherent right of self-defense stipulated in Article 5 of the United Nations Charter
• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and said it puts an entire region at risk of plunging “into chaos.”
• “We condemn the ongoing attack in the strongest possible terms, risking to plunge an entire region into chaos,” Baerbock wrote on X.“Iran and its proxies must stop this immediately. In these hours, we stand firmly by Israel.”
• US President Joe Biden’s meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room is over for now, per a White House official. The group could reconvene later, the official said.
• The US is continuing “to shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel,” a US defense official said Sunday. “In accordance with our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, US forces in the region continue to shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel,” the official said. “Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect US forces operating in the region.”
• CNN teams on the ground report the sound of explosions above Tel Aviv, which appear to have been interceptions by Israeli air defenses.
• There are also reports of explosions in the areas of Beersheba, the Dead Sea and Hebron in the West Bank, as well as the Golan Heights on the border with Syria.
• Iron Dome intercepts took place in several additional locations, according to live webcams viewed by CNN.  The intercepts were observed above Hanaton, which is in northern Israel east of Haifa; near Nazareth; near Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut; and Safed, near the Golan Heights. Sirens are sounding in many parts of Israel as air defenses are activated.

CNN