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Iranians in Tehran pass an anti-Israeli billboard in the city center on Friday. (Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Live updates Iran launches drones toward Israel in retaliatory attack

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Iran launched drones from its territory toward Israel late Saturday, the Israeli military said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was “ready for any scenario.”

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in brief remarks Saturday evening it would take several hours for the drones to reach Israel. Israeli forces were responding according to plan, he said. If threats with “shorter arrival times” are found, “we will immediately alert,” Hagari said.  
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Hagari said the IDF was on “high alert and is constantly monitoring the operational situation.” Aerial defenses were on “high alert,” with Air Force jets and Navy vessels on a “defense mission in Israeli air and naval space,” he said.
Israeli settlers on Saturday rampaged violently across parts of the occupied West Bank. The groups, angered over the death of an Israeli teen, who the IDF said was murdered by “terrorists,” stormed Palestinian villages, burned homes, and attacked motorists, killing one man in the village of al-Mughayyir.
Jordan and Lebanon, which each border Israel, temporarily closed their airspace to incoming, departing and transit aircraft.
Jacob Toukhy, a staff member of the USAID mission in the West Bank and Gaza, was killed near his home in Jaffa, according to an internal memo seen by The Post. The U.S. Agency for International Development is working with the U.S. Embassy to ascertain details about the death, the agency said Friday.
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Hagari said the IDF was on “high alert and is constantly monitoring the operational situation.” Aerial defenses were on “high alert,” with Air Force jets and Navy vessels on a “defense mission in Israeli air and naval space,” he said.
Israeli settlers on Saturday rampaged violently across parts of the occupied West Bank. The groups, angered over the death of an Israeli teen, who the IDF said was murdered by “terrorists,” stormed Palestinian villages, burned homes, and attacked motorists, killing one man in the village of al-Mughayyir.
Jordan and Lebanon, which each border Israel, temporarily closed their airspace to incoming, departing and transit aircraft.
Jacob Toukhy, a staff member of the USAID mission in the West Bank and Gaza, was killed near his home in Jaffa, according to an internal memo seen by The Post. The U.S. Agency for International Development is working with the U.S. Embassy to ascertain details about the death, the agency said Friday.
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Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for six months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region.

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival. (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948.

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip.