Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a short message on X, formerly Twitter: “We intercepted. We blocked. Together, we will win.”Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also celebrated the results, thanking the U.S. and other countries for their assistance, but warned that the incident was ongoing.“This campaign is not over yet. We need to remain vigilant … and to prepare for any scenario,” he said in a video statement. “At the same time, we blocked the first wave (of attacks), and we did it with great success.”Hagari said minor damage was caused to an Israeli airbase, but he said it was still functioning. Rescuers said a 7-year-old girl was seriously wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, though they said police were still investigating the circumstances of her injuries.Israel announced it reopened its airspace, loosening one restriction it had imposed ahead of the strike, although schools remained closed around the country. Neighboring Jordan also reopened its airspace.Israel may be particularly proud of the success of its defence stands in sharp contrast to the failures it endured during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. Facing a far less powerful enemy in Hamas, Israel’s border defences lapsed and the military took days to repel the marauding militants – an embarrassing defeat for the Middle East’s strongest and best-equipped army.While thwarting the Iranian onslaught could help restore Israel’s image, what it does next will be closely watched both in the region and in Western capitals.In Washington, Biden said U.S. forces helped Israel down “nearly all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.Biden, who had cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team at the White House on Saturday afternoon, spoke with Netanyahu later in the day.“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” Biden said.In a statement Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. does “not seek escalation,” and would hold talks with its allies in the coming days.



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