On April 13th, hundreds of drones, along with about 140 missiles coming from Iran, entered the Israeli airspace.
This attack surprised both Israeli citizens and foreign governments, as it was the first time Iran had attacked Israel. Sirens roared across Israel, warning civilians to take shelter immediately.
99% of the missiles heading towards Israel lit up the Israeli airspace as the Iron Dome intercepted them.
The Iron Dome is Israel’s missile defense system that protects all of its airspace from short-range missiles. The Iron Dome is composed of radar systems, tracking devices, and interceptor missiles.
The Iron Dome played a crucial role in providing safety for Israeli citizens during both the Hamas and Iranian attacks.
United States, British, and Jordanian aircraft all helped to defend the Israeli airspace as well.
After the attack, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was struck down in a way by President Biden after their meeting. During the meeting, Biden warned Netanyahu that the United States would not be able to help Israel in the event of a war with Iran.
This strike, however, was not an act of aggression from the Iranian government but an act of retaliation, said Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.
The strike was in retaliation for an Israeli attack on an Iranian compound in Syria, which caused the deaths of two top-ranking Iranian officials
The supreme leader went on to state that if Israel retaliated to this attack, the country would experience a far more powerful counterattack than this one.
This came as no surprise, as before the Hamas-Israel war began, tensions between Israel and Iran were already high. Since its revolution, Iran has been hostile to the Israeli state, as its government officials oppose the existence of the Israeli state.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations meeting regarding the attack, Iran told the UN that the country considered this situation concluded so long as there was no counterstrike on behalf of Israel.
Israel’s allies have responded to the attack by further sanctioning Iran. As of April 23rd, President Biden signed a bill giving more foreign aid to Israel in an effort to end the conflict in Gaza.
Recently, Israeli officials spoke about an anticipated arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court is a permanently established international court that prosecutes individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
If the warrant for Netanyahu were to be issued, that would mean that participating countries would be required to turn him into the custody of the ICC if he were to visit any of these countries.
This is why, as of April 28th, the United States is working with the ICC to stop it from issuing a warrant for Netanyahu.
Catherine Gomez, a 10th grader at CSHS, spoke about the situation, saying, “The problems over there [the Middle East] would go away if Israel and Palestine split their territory evenly. The retaliation strikes were simply karma.”
However, for now, it is unknown which way this conflict in the Middle East will go. Maybe after all the commotion, this region will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
