the retaliatory action comes two weeks after israel's strike on its consulate in syria two weeks ago. president biden reaffirms the us's ironclad commitment to israel's security as more britishjets are sent to the region. in the last hour, israel and jordan reopen their air spaces after closing it late on saturday. and this is the scene live in tel aviv: it was the first time iran had ever launched a direct military assault on israel. hello. i'm geeta guru—murthy. thank you forjoining us. the israeli military says iran launched over 300 missiles and drones towards israel, in what was an expected, but unprecedented response to a deadly israeli air strike that destroyed an iranian diplomatic compound in syria earlier this month.

the idf says almost all of them were shot down and has described the attack as being "foiled". the attack marks the first time iran had ever launched a direct military assault on israel. we will be live injerusalem shortly. but first, let's bring you up to date with the latest. take a look at this video. air raid sirens wail what you can hear is the air raid sirens injerusalem. what you can see is israel's air defence system, the iron dome, in operation — flashes in thejerusalem sky as drones and missiles are shot down. a coalition of israel's allies, including the us and uk, has helped shoot down some iranian drones and missiles before they reached israeli territory. this is footage of that happening overjordan. similarly, this video is from the skies over damascus in syria.

you can see objects being hit in the sky. and, again, in the skies over iraq. more drones and missiles being intercepted as they travelled towards israel. also with the help of some of those golf neighbours of israel. —— gulf. here's what we know so far. iran has attacked israel with around 300 drones and missiles. there were significant explosions in the sky over israel, caused by interceptions from the iron dome. israel says it shot down 99% of the drones and missiles fired from iran. us presidentjoe biden has spoken to benjamin netanyahu, and condemned the attacks by iran. he says the us shot down some iranian drones that were headed towards israel. uk coalition forces were also involved in those defensive operations. mr biden says he will host a meeting of g7 leaders later to co—ordinate a "united diplomatic response" to the attack. israel's defence forces say one girl has been injured so far and that light damage was caused to a military base. the idf�*s spokesman says

the 10—year—old girl who was injured by shrapnel from falling debris. now, iran has warned israel and the us that any idf response would be met with further retaliation. hezbollah in lebanon, and houthi fighters in yemen — both iranian proxy groups — have also fired rockets at israel. we will hear from our correspondent hugo bachega in israel in a moment. we will bejoining our we will be joining our correspondent in israel in a moment. but first, here's daniel hagari, an idf spokesperson, giving an update a little earlier. tonight, iran launched a large—scale co—ordinated attack on israel. the regime in iran fired a massive swarm, over 200 killer drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles towards the state of israel. together with our allies and partners across the region, we are operating. at this very moment to defend israel from iran's attack.

so far, we have intercepted a vast majority of incoming missiles by israel assistance. so far, we have intercepted and are continuing to intercept dozens of attack drones, as well as cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. 0utside outside of israel's border. a number of iranian missiles fell inside israeli territory, causing minor damage to a military base with no casualties, only one little girl has been hurt, and we hope she will be well. the iranian attack is ongoing. our plans are in the air. light, wide—scale attack by iran is a major escalation. —— tonight. together, with our allies and partners, we are operating at full force to defend the state of israel and the people of israel. we will continue

to fulfil this mission. let's speak to british army veteran and chief executive of the intelligence company sibylline, justin crump. thank you forjoining us. from the information that is available, what do we know about what kinds of missiles and drones were sent across by iran? it missiles and drones were sent across b iran? , , ., ., , by iran? it seems to have been somewhat _ by iran? it seems to have been somewhat a — by iran? it seems to have been somewhat a mixture. - by iran? it seems to have been somewhat a mixture. roughlyl by iran? it seems to have been i somewhat a mixture. roughly 170 to 185 drones, and order design at this point, but familiar to people who have seen these operate over ukraine, i am sure in the last couple of years, so familiar to anyone who has been tracking the situation, these are propeller powered, pretty slow and prudent that a majority of what came in. after those much lower flying drones that steadily made their way to israel, around 30 long—range cruise

missiles, these are much more threatening, and the most threatening, and the most threatening things of all, around 110 120 threatening things of all, around 110120 ballistic missiles launched at a range of 2000 kilometres, the best thing in their general arsenal and were deployed against israel. as you heard, of those, none of the drones made it at all to israeli territory, none of the cruise missiles made it to israeli territory, they were intercepted by israel and its allies including the us, uk and jordan, it seems, and of the ballistic missiles, a small number got through and hit the south, as we heard that before. but very few really for the scale of the operation. at least one of those missiles was intercepted outside the earth's atmosphere, which is what quite a technological feat from israel and its allies at this time. ultimately israel spent billions of dollars to be prepared for this scenario, the help of its allies and

very much neutralised what could have been a much more consequential attack. ., _ ., , attack. you say the allies with the us, the attack. you say the allies with the us, the uk _ attack. you say the allies with the us, the uk and — attack. you say the allies with the us, the uk and jordan. _ attack. you say the allies with the us, the uk and jordan. are - attack. you say the allies with the us, the uk and jordan. are there | attack. you say the allies with the . us, the uk and jordan. are there any us, the uk and jordan. are there any others involved? a number of countries have their airspace affected. fix, countries have their airspace affected. �* , ., , affected. a number of countries offered support. _ affected. a number of countries offered support. we _ affected. a number of countries offered support. we will - affected. a number of countries offered support. we will learn l affected. a number of countries - offered support. we will learn more in the coming days. it is really confusing. they eliminated over 300 threats coming to israel amongst various nations. the fascinating thing as watching arab states offering israel their support in the face of this threat from iran which is a bit of a reverse of the trend that we have seen since october, the regional condemnation of israeli operations in gaza so i think other nations offering support is very notable but it does seem to be jordan, the us and uk most involved. to be fair, some weapons were launched from iraq towards israel by proxy, some launched by yemen but

very much in the pattern of what we have gotten used to in normal operations around israel within that as well. we operations around israel within that as well. ~ ., operations around israel within that as well. ~ . , , ., as well. we are 'ust seeing a light on reuters — as well. we are just seeing a light on reuters actually _ as well. we are just seeing a light on reuters actually that _ as well. we are just seeing a light on reuters actually that israel - as well. we are just seeing a light| on reuters actually that israel has had french military assets were involved in the defence against the attack from iran, so thatjust coming in at the moment. and in terms of how this was choreographed, we had this warning, something was expected, obviously wasn't clear exactly what was expected but we saw major meetings at the end of last week between the americans and the israelis. when you look at what has happened, obviously very alarming to see any escalation, but wasn't actually quite carefully calibrated by iran in some senses? you actually quite carefully calibrated by iran in some senses? you took the words out of — by iran in some senses? you took the words out of my _ by iran in some senses? you took the words out of my mouth. _ by iran in some senses? you took the words out of my mouth. it _ by iran in some senses? you took the words out of my mouth. it had - by iran in some senses? you took the words out of my mouth. it had to - by iran in some senses? you took the words out of my mouth. it had to be i words out of my mouth. it had to be a carefully calibrated response. the attack on the first of april against

the iranian facilities in damascus, it was inviting retaliation, as we intended to do so by israel and put iran into a corner when i couldn't let an operation like that go without responding, but it forced them to do something more direct which could have actually escalated, both in escalation rescue iran because israel the potentially the benefit of additional support as we have seen a military support and diplomatic support for the us, it was wavering because of the humanitarian situation in gaza and the disregard for aspects of that by the disregard for aspects of that by the israelis. iran had to calibrate a response carefully. again, the fact that it was an effective —— ineffective hopefully dampens down the fears, but of course there are hawks within israel, walks in the us and other countries saying iran is a permanent threat and cannot be allowed to continue pointing again well over 100 missiles directly and

say we need to respond to this. it remains unclear if they were win that argument, the us is very clearly against further escalation, think every other nation �*s as well as his point. of course these events can take on a momentum of their own, so it comes down to how much israel can be reined in by the us because a large constituency would like to see more commitment against iran in particular the nuclear programme and drones factories that are not only being used for this attack, but have been used to support russia against the ukraine. ukrainians themselves saying where was all this for us? we put up with this repeatedly don't have israel's defences, we don't have israel's defences, we don't have the israeli defence force or the us air force and others protecting us. i think it shows a pretty stark comparison for the people of ukraine and i suspect that will be discussed a bit in coming days as well. if will be discussed a bit in coming days as well-— will be discussed a bit in coming days as well. if israel, if ben'amin netanyahu — days as well. if israel, if ben'amin netanyahu was i days as well. if israel, if ben'amin netanyahu was to i days as well. if israel, if ben'amin netanyahu was to act, * days as well. if israel, if ben'amin netanyahu was to act, was h days as well. if israel, if benjamin netanyahu was to act, was to - days as well. if israel, if benjamin netanyahu was to act, was to do | netanyahu was to act, was to do something militarily, what are his

options? something militarily, what are his otions? , ., ., ., ., options? there is a whole range of course of continuing _ options? there is a whole range of course of continuing what - options? there is a whole range of course of continuing what israel i options? there is a whole range of| course of continuing what israel has been doing continuing to strike at its proxy targets, the linked targets in syria, escalating those operations, they are the very thin end of the wedge and business as usualfor end of the wedge and business as usual for israel, end of the wedge and business as usualfor israel, pushing much further towards options directly against the drones factories, they have been struck seriously in the past and it seems the drones potentially launched from azerbaijan, no—one is officially aware of who is behind that. through the scenario we have been discussing for about 15 years, the strike against iranian targets but that is an almighty mission from the air force i would be a notable escalation. growing up without the support of the us and others that might well condemn such a move actually is an overreaction i think

certainly given the current circumstances comparative and effectiveness of the operation against israel despite its scale and scope. i think that is much harder. ultimately of course israel has various other assets at its disposal, cruise missiles and submarines for example, but again, that another very fiery and of escalation here. israel facing some challenges in what you can get away with in terms of response without annoying the us. the commitment for annoying the us. the commitment for a wider operation against iran is very much lacking, i think we will see that today as well, and that will put israel on the lower end of the scale of what it might be able to escalate. just the scale of what it might be able to escalate-— to escalate. just very, very briefl , to escalate. just very, very briefly, who _ to escalate. just very, very briefly, who is _ to escalate. just very, very briefly, who is backing - to escalate. just very, very briefly, who is backing iran militarily?— briefly, who is backing iran militarily? directly militarily officially just _ militarily? directly militarily officially just as _ militarily? directly militarily officiallyjust as proxies, - militarily? directly militarily| officiallyjust as proxies, but militarily? directly militarily i officiallyjust as proxies, but it does affect close relations with russia and china and china stop short of condemning what has happened, i think sitting in an

ambivalent position around that but remains close to iran. there is certainly a couple of major supporters still out there. qm. certainly a couple of major supporters still out there. 0k, many thanks indeed. _ let's speak to our middle east correspondent, hugo bachega, injerusalem. we see the morning light there where you are. it has been an extraordinary night for israel. exactly. it is 9:15am here in israel so the country is waking up after a very long night, this unprecedented attack by iran, the first time ever iran has carried out a direct attack on israel. so here injerusalem with heard the air raid alert at around two o'clock in the morning, we could actually see the interceptions in the sky, the loud explosions of the interceptions by the air defence systems and we had an update this

morning from the israeli military saying that more than 300 drones and missiles were fired by iran and that 99% of these drones and missiles were intercepted, so an extremely successful night for the israeli military. the americans also intercepted some of those objects that were fired by the iranians. i think a military base was hit in the south of the country, but apart from that, it seems that the impact of this attack was very limited. we should get a better picture of the impact and also in terms of casualties later today, but again, it seems that it was a very successful night for the israeli military in defending the country from this attack. watching it at home, it was extraordinary to watch. and it was

frankly terrifying. the mood in israel has been remarkably robust, it seems. , , , ., israel has been remarkably robust, it seems. , , , it seems. yes, this is a country that is used — it seems. yes, this is a country that is used to _ it seems. yes, this is a country that is used to this _ it seems. yes, this is a country that is used to this kind - it seems. yes, this is a country that is used to this kind of - that is used to this kind of situation. what happened last night was unprecedented but israelis are used to the idea of having to seek shelter because of air strikes. what happened here is that it was not really a surprise that the attack happened because for days american officials had been warning that they believed iran was appointed to carry out a significant attack —— was planning. they said the attack was a matter of when, not if. and even last night, hours before this attack, we started to get some indications that something was imminent. the israelis cancelled school activities, they also limited public gatherings, the airspace was

closed, the airport was shut down and then we had details of drones and then we had details of drones and missiles that had been fired by the iranians and the country was going to be under attack so it was not a massive surprise, there was a lot of tension obviously, concern in the last few days because there was a lot of uncertainty, but it wasn't a lot of uncertainty, but it wasn't a major surprise the attack happened. perhaps the scale is a surprise with more than 300 drones and missiles. surprise with more than 300 drones and missiles-— and missiles. weekly, the key . uestion and missiles. weekly, the key question everyone _ and missiles. weekly, the key question everyone is - and missiles. weekly, the key question everyone is asking i and missiles. weekly, the key question everyone is asking isj and missiles. weekly, the key- question everyone is asking is what is the israeli government are likely to do, will they heat calls for restraint or is that not clear yet? before this attack happened, the israeli authorities had warned iran any kind of direct attack the run would be met with an israeli response so there was a meeting of the wall cabinet after these attacks

to discuss the situation. we know there was a phone call between president biden and prime minister benjamin netanyahu, president biden again reaffirmed america was much support for israel but it is very interesting that in some reports they suggest that in this phone conversation president biden told primus to netanyahu that america will not support any kind of israeli retaliation —— pro mnister butler. the fear as this would lead to major competition between these two enemies, israeland iran. we saw that what will happen, the israelis threatened to retaliate, but i think there is been some kind of activity behind the scenes to try to de—escalate the situation. behind the scenes to try to de-escalate the situation. hugo pacheco in _ de-escalate the situation. hugo pacheco in jerusalem, - de-escalate the situation. hugo pacheco in jerusalem, thank- de-escalate the situation. hugo | pacheco in jerusalem, thank you de—escalate the situation. hugo pacheco injerusalem, thank you very much. —— bachega. the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, was also quick to release

a statement overnight: you see the condemnation there. peter, we know that britain and other allies, the us and french were involved, thejordanians were involved, thejordanians were involved in supporting the israelis overnight. involved in supporting the israelis overniaht. , ~ ., overnight. yes, we know the uk fiuhter overnight. yes, we know the uk fighterjets _ overnight. yes, we know the uk fighterjets were _ overnight. yes, we know the uk fighterjets were involved - overnight. yes, we know the uk fighterjets were involved so - overnight. yes, we know the uk| fighterjets were involved so raf planes deployed the take—down the iranians drones stop this marks a clear escalation in terms of relations between london and tehran, the statement from rishi sunak overnight stressing the importance of deescalation, really condemning the strongest terms those attacks on iran, we know if rishi sunak, just like ajoe iran, we know if rishi sunak, just like a joe biden will be having conversations with benjamin netanyahu in the coming days, we know this has been discussed, potential of the attack anyway in government circles for some days, there was a meeting of the governments emergency committee, cobra, on friday, and we had reaction from across the political spectrum here in the uk as well,

leader of the labour party for example sir keir starmer whose words very similar to those of rishi sunak saying that the labour government, whether to win the general election, will continue support for israel's security and i would imagine that tomorrow there will be a statement in the house of commons from the prime minister as tends to be the case when military intervention does take place, and also there is that call potentially today as well that president biden will hope to convene of g7 leaders presumably rishi sunak will be involved in that. we of g7 leaders presumably rishi sunak will be involved in that.— will be involved in that. we are seeinu will be involved in that. we are seeing reports _ will be involved in that. we are seeing reports on _ will be involved in that. we are seeing reports on rotors - will be involved in that. we are seeing reports on rotors about| seeing reports on rotors about france because with the details that meijer, israel's military spokesperson say france has got very good technologyjets, radar, contributing to airspace but it was unclear if french had shutdown airspace. how much detail do we have of british involvement and future

involvement? we of british involvement and future involvement?— of british involvement and future involvement? ~ . . , ., ., involvement? we had a statement from the minister of — involvement? we had a statement from the minister of defence _ involvement? we had a statement from the minister of defence overnight - involvement? we had a statement from the minister of defence overnight as - the minister of defence overnight as well and what saying is they will send morejets well and what saying is they will send more jets to well and what saying is they will send morejets to back well and what saying is they will send more jets to back up what is called 0peration shader which is the uk's and esi make state based in iraq and syria and the defence secretary grant schapps was saying were any running missiles stray anywhere near some of the uk bases in that particular part of the world, they would be shot down. there is a posturing of british military presence there are, as you say, this appears to be a co—ordinated international effort with all of israel's eoi is getting involved but pretty obvious from what we have had given that this is essentially the first salvo that british operations, british military are going to be playing a pretty important part in that.- are going to be playing a pretty important part in that. finally, i cuess important part in that. finally, i uess i important part in that. finally, i guess i was— important part in that. finally, i guess i wasjust _ important part in that. finally, i guess i wasjust speaking - important part in that. finally, i guess i wasjust speaking to - important part in that. finally, i - guess i wasjust speaking to pointed guess i was just speaking to pointed out the difference between the co—ordinated ally to support here

for israel versus what's been going on with ukraine. and of course the whole question of support for israel, condemnation by many for what is going on in gaza, it's been incredibly complex and convoluted and this doesn't add a different new dimension to it, doesn't it? it potentially does, it is an acrylic complex situation with a profound impact on british politics and we have had mass demonstrations on the streets calling on israel to stop its actions in gaza, it has caused tensions between both the two main parties particularly the labour party on it, interesting to note sir keir starmer put out that statement effectively saying that he stands shoulder to shoulder with israel on this but i don't think that will stop the likes of keir starmer and rishi sunakfrom calling out israel for what is seen as perhaps them going a little bit too far in gaza, increasingly the rhetoric from international community to what israel has been strong on that. real

concern about an intervention potentially in rafah, so it does add to a really complex, multifaceted picture and all the while of course people continuing to suffer in that part of the world.— people continuing to suffer in that part of the world. peter saul, thank ou. let's take a look now at some of the other major international reaction. president biden rushed to the situation room in washington to keep across the developments. the white house published a photo from the situation room on x. you can see the president surrounded by some of his top security officials. defense secretary lloyd austin, secretary of state antony blinken, among others. and president biden has spoken over the phone with israeli pm benjamin netanyahu to say he condemns the attacks in the strongest possible terms. in a statement, president biden said:

he went on to say: the united nations secretary—general antonio gutterres released a statement saying: the un security council will be holding an emergency meeting later on sunday at the request of israel. for more on what israel's response is going to be, and what the white house is saying to israel, our correspondent in washington, will vernon.

that is right. all focus, all eyes now on what happens next. in a statement released a short time ago, joe biden, the president, said that he would be convening g7 leaders and co—ordinate what he called a united diplomatic response. in another statement we received from us secretary of defence lloyd austin, he called on iran to de—escalate tensions. this was an unprecedented large—scale attack on america's most important ally in the middle east, directly onto its territory by iran. so the israelis will almost certainly be looking to retaliate, and i think pressure will now grow on the biden administration over what exactly to do about that, whether the israelis should be reined in somehow, the level of support that the us should offer the israelis in that situation. of course we still don't have the full picture of the extent of this iranians assault.

the damage and localities certainly for now look minimal. it is also not clear what the extent of the weapons, the kind of weapons that were used, whether ballistic cruise missiles were involved or whether it was just drones. so lots of questions, but i think whatever the conclusion is, america, israel, otherallies, they will be urged to proceed with caution to ensure they don't get somehow dragged into an escalatory tit—for—tat conflict with iran that could trigger a wider regional war. we heard a bit earlier from the iranian revolutionary guard after the attack began, warning the us not to support israel in any retaliation, saying that would elicit a fierce response from iran's armed forces.

and reutersjust reporting possibly from the daniel hagari briefing at the moment, 300 projectiles were fired overnight and 99% of them were intercepted. mr netanyahu will be coming under pressure obviously from all sides, as you say. there is one report being reported by axios news agency saying that mr biden told mr netanyahu that the us will oppose any israeli counter—attacks against iran, that is axios citing a senior white house official. presuming that is not confirmed by any other source as yet, but is it likely to be the white house position? that is one source, so not confirmed. at that stage, that is speculation. as i say, president biden, in his statement so far, is just talking about a diplomatic response, isn't he? there is no indication

there of the extent of support the us might offer to iran. but i think, as we saw in the statement, america is ready to support israel, there have been many statements over the last few days from mr biden, from other us officials saying that american support for israeli security is ironclad, mr biden use that word again tonight in his statement. it has actually been not a bad result actually for mr biden. he said in that statement that no us forces or facilities in the iranian assault today, and that is a good thing because it means that america is less likely to be somehow forced into any sort of direct military confrontation with iran. of course that was the number one nightmare scenario for officials here in washington, leading up to this attack, and this is one of the reasons why there were repeated warnings

from the white house, from other us officials in the last few days, urging ukraine, sorry, urging iran to call off or perhaps water down their plans for attacking israel. precisely because they wanted it to act as a deterrent, right, they wanted to de—escalate the tensions and ensure that this didn't somehow snowball into something that was then out of their control. and, obviously, it was signposted that some sort of iranian action was potentially likely to happen, we saw various high—profile military meetings in the region. we still don't have the full details in terms of exactly what the us involvement was. no, we don't. we heard in a statement from president biden following his phone call with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, tonight, that us aircraft and missile defence

destroyers that were sent to the region in advance helped israel repel this assault. he added the israelis shot down almost all the missiles and drones launched at it. so we know that there was significant involvement from the us military in the effort to repel those missiles and drones, other allies of course were involved as well. but we don't know the exact details of it. the numbers, the statistics. but we know the us was clearly heavily involved in that operation. the bbc�*s will vernon in washington. a newsagency is quoting a line from the iran's revolutionary guard's a matter saying tehran will retaliate against any israeli attack on its interests, officials or citizens and saying that if there was any sort of attack now from israel, it would respond. in fact, attack now from israel, it would respond. infact, it attack now from israel, it would respond. in fact, it is saying that

it would, yes, it would respond further, obviously compared with what some are seen as a recalibrated attack last night but still unprecedented. military in defending the country from this attack. now, we are going to move away from the situation in the middle east for a moment. police in australia say the man who killed six people in a stabbing attack, at a shopping centre in sydney on saturday, was known to the authorities, and had mental health issues. the 40—year—old, who was shot dead by police, has been identified asjoel cauchi. his family contacted the police after seeing footage of the attack on tv. prime minister anthony albanese was among those paying tribute to the victims. five women and one man were killed in the attack and 12 others were injured. among the fatalities was 38—year—old ashlee good who was attempting to save her 9—month—old baby harriet when she was killed. police say the baby has undergone surgery and her family say she's "doing well". let's speak to our australia

correspondent katy watson. it isa it is a tragic event there in sydney. what more details are emerging? i sydney. what more details are emerging?— sydney. what more details are emerauin? . , ., , emerging? i am here 'ust outside the sho -|n~ emerging? i am here 'ust outside the shopping e.entre — emerging? i am here 'ust outside the shopping centre, you — emerging? i am here just outside the shopping centre, you can _ emerging? i am here just outside the shopping centre, you can see - emerging? i am here just outside the shopping centre, you can see people| shopping centre, you can see people have come to lay flowers and paid tribute to the victims throughout the day. this country is very much in shock, a country not used to violent attacks like we saw on saturday afternoon at the westfield here in bondijunction. people here arejust trying to here in bondijunction. people here are just trying to process what has been obviously a very difficult and brutal attack on many people, at a busy, busy time, a saturday afternoon in a very busy part of sydney, not far from afternoon in a very busy part of sydney, not farfrom bondi beach, one of the biggest tourist attractions. it is also the start of school holidays, so while the police are giving out more information, as you mentioned, the name of the attacker, and information about the victims, there are still dwelled in

hospital, some in critical condition, there are probably many more questions than answers currently that can be given out. there is presumably no motives, yet we are seeing pictures from the aftermath, and as you said, it has shaken the country, hasn't it? absolutely. i was talking to one anotherjust now absolutely. i was talking to one another just now who absolutely. i was talking to one anotherjust now who said that she had been letting her 14—year—old have more leeway in recent months, to go to the shopping centre with herfriends, and i spoke to her daughter burst into tears, saying it will no longer feel safe doing something that feels like such a normal activity. this is a safe community, it could have been any one of them. that is something that has obviously shocked many people here. but the thoughts are with those who are still in hospital, those who are still in hospital, those in a critical condition, and of course, the news of the little

baby, the youngest victim has undergone surgery overnight and the family have issued a statement talking about ashlee good as an amazing partner, wife, daughter, mother and friend, and saying she was an outstanding human being and luckily the belt —— baby is doing well after the surgery she has had. thank you very much. back to our main breaking story. that unprecedented attack on israel overnight. let's look at the reaction across the region. there have been celebrations across iran following the attacks on israel. thousands took to the streets with flags, fireworks and chanting. the attack marks the first time iran had ever launched a direct military assault on israel despite decades of attacks and exchanges with israel conducted via iran's regional proxies. said shehata is from bbc arabic. he told me more about reaction in the region.

saudi arabia foreign ministry expressed deep concern about what is happening and called for restraint because the region cannot afford another war and damage and dangers on people and the region. the egyptian foreign ministry also issued a statement, calling for the parties to be restrained and to de—escalate the tension. it is not good for anyone. both countries are doing that. 0n the other side, there is celebration in iran and lebanon. for the victory. it is a reaction more or less so far in addition to closing the airspaces over the region, which affect travel, passengers and the economy, many things. so it is concerning for countries, for people and there is a call

for restraint, not to be escalating anymore. and how influence do those neighbouring governments have on both sides to pressure them to de—escalate? the only country that has a strong relation between saudi arabia and iran, saudi arabia can play a role in convincing iran in order to not escalate more. the mission is done, there will be more strikes. so far, i think it is the end for the iranian air strikes and it is now on the side of israel, whether they respond or not. there are talks or reports of mr biden calling for mr netanyahu not to do counter—attack. they want to choose a diplomatic track. we need to support israel.

so it might work in favour of israel not to retaliate, because if they retaliate, iran will strike. but if israel will not retaliate and follow biden's advice, it might win because there is a call for g7 meetings with mr biden and security council meeting. the diplomatic response. try to show in the media that iran is a threat, we need to support israel and israel has a right to defend itself. i think israel, for the sake of israel, i think they should follow the advice of mr biden. and i think this would be best for the sake, for the peace in the region not to counter—attack. especially the damage from these drones and missiles was not much, only light damage, one injury. the damage is not much. so even iran tries to maximise the victory and attack again, but the damage was not there

because the israeli air defences as allies managed to destroy most of them before they reached israel. it is more or less a win—win case. iran retaliate according to the declaration from the leaders of iran and, at the same time, israel was not damaged. so in this case, a win—win scenario. if it does escalate, i think it will be fine. a very, very, very tense few hours. i think we do have some pictures from tehran of some celebrations apparently that took place after this strike. imean... those are the pictures there that we have had in from tehran. just how significant is it that iran has struck israel on its own territory for the first time? it is, for this kind of propaganda, there is economic problems

and pressure on iran, more sanctions on iran, so iran tries to maximise the win. but at the same time, it is unprecedented. it didn't happen before, so from iran soil to attack israel is the first time to happen. it might work as a deterrence for israel not to do they have done in syria two weeks ago. it could work as a deterrent that might help the tensions because the two countries, iran showed its ability to reach israel from its oil and is not afraid to do that. so it shows it has the guts to defy america and the western allies, but at the same time, the damage was limited. you try to show the restraints because israel tested the resolve after the senior leaders in damascus, and many are killing, so in this case, the iranians

are trying to show they are strong, but at the same time, the damage wasn't much, so israel should i think according to the american advice, should accept that and let it go in order to win at a diplomatic level. but the change and you cannot attack israel directly. so that is from the propaganda media level, it is ok, but the reality is the damage was not there so israel is not affected much. the schools were closed, activities, but nothing much happened to israel. but i think it will help ease the tension and the relationship between iran and israel and not be the solution for the conflict between them. this will help to use the negotiation and diplomatic tracks in order to help their situation in the middle east and gaza.

what are again reporting state television in iran saying they have sent a message to the united states by switzerland warning that the us�*s bases would be targeted if washington backs israel's retaliation. so a further line coming to us, a warning from iran to israel and the us that they obviously do not want to see any further retaliation or escalation and put out a statement overnight, saying as far as they were concerned, that attack was concluded. 0bviously all eyes are now on israel's response. iran sending a message to the usa its base would be targeted if washington backs and is buried retaliation. alsojust backs and is buried retaliation. also just to let you know the news agencies are reporting that on the diplomatic front a video meeting of g7 leaders to discuss the attack

early in the afternoon european time. well, we have been getting as much reaction as we can to events overnight. earlier, i spoke to benjamin radd, a senior fellow at the burkle center for international relations at ucla. he gave us his take on whether israel can be persuaded not to retaliate. in the conversation that president biden had with benjamin neta nyahu, biden pushed netanyahu to accept the outcome of the last 12 hours as a "win" for israel, meaning that iran largely failed to succeed to materially impact israel's security in any way, very minimal destruction, casualties limited to that one incident that your correspondent mentioned. so if that is in fact the case, it's difficult to see how it is successful for iran and, therefore, the motivation

to retaliate is not there. i believe that this will help stay the situation from inflaming any further, but of course, that could change if iran continues to launch any further attacks in the next few hours or days. and, obviously, we are seeing different lines coming out and the general call for calm, one report on axios reporting — we can't confirm it — saying president biden is not wanting to have israel move against iran any further. is it possible to read the signals at the moment out of the white house in terms of their position on what they are doing? absolutely, i think netanyahu firmly understands that if israel chooses to take this further and respond to iran directly by attacking iranian installations, facilities even if they are military and not civilian, they israel does this alone and without the backing of the united states in that objective. do you think biden will have been as clear as that? absolutely, and all accounts indicate that biden made it clear

that that's his position and that netanyahu firmly understood, and a similar conversation between the american secretary of defence and the israeli defence minister indicated the understanding was made clear to the israelis both by the defence ministers. and is it clear what the israeli position is? at this moment, no, not necessarily, but for the moment, though, what israel can enjoy is it has received a lot of international support, support that had been waning and drifting away from its favour in the last few weeks as criticism over its conduct of the war in gaza had been mounting. so, for now, israel is enjoying a military victory in the sense that it managed to deflect and prevent any serious injuries or casualties from taking place, and also diplomatic support notjust from regional allies and allies like the united states, but we see across europe and the arab world. there has a lot of focus on hezbollah and we have seen the proxies acting as well overnight. what's your reading

as to that situation? could that still flare up? again, those proxies have been conducting their operations going back to november. some of them even before then, we know hezbollah has been active on the northern frontier for quite a while, the united state was successful in using its carrier groups and its assets in the region to intercept those attacks coming notjust from iran, but also from lebanon, yemen, syria and iraq. so, so long as there is a coalition to prevent it from escalating, i don't see it going any further yet. it is unprecedented to have a direct strike from iran into israel. there is bound to be some political pressure on mr netanyahu to respond in kind. that's what biden specifically addressed when he told the prime minister, he said, "look, israel managed to come out "of this relatively unscathed.

"iran failed to accomplish any of its objectives, "it created more support for israel internationally that it had before "today and it also emboldened other arab allies to, "again, see iran as a critical threat in the region and one "could escalate tensions rather than calm them down." it's difficult to see how this is not a win for israel and that would motivate benjamin netanyahu to not escalate the situation. will the us go as far as saying that if he does not follow that particular track, that the us is going to properly withdraw support from israel because they have not done that until now? the senate minority leader in the united states has now called on congress to convene and pass an aid package budget that would provide increased military funding and assistance to israel. it's difficult to see how something like that would pass both houses of the us congress if netanyahu openly defied what the american

president was asking to do and escalated further. if netanyahu wants to rely on continued us assistance in the form of additional or supplemental aid packages, that he would be wise to heed whatjoe biden is telling him. we're getting lots of information and wires coming in, one report saying that the israeli defence minister said we've repelled the first major wave of iranian aerial attacks but the confrontation is not yet being over. would you expect any israeli action within the next few hours, or do you think you think it will be further in future whether they will be under pressure to pause before they take any further action? in the next few hours, we can expect israeli responses, in lebanon, yemen and syria. it is very unlikely given what president biden indicated

and given the failure of iran's missiles and drones to achieve their objective that israel would lodge any kind of counter—attack into iran. i think you said it in a video statement according to reuters, they said israel's repelled the first wave of the confrontation is not yet over — what does that suggest? even though iran's mission to the united nations indicated its operation is by and large done, there is no statement or indication from proxy groups that they will not continue escalating the situation further so israel still finds itself in a defensive posture to see what could happen next from the other groups that are acting separate from iran. reuters reporting benjamin netanyahu says on x we intercepted and repelled together, we shall win. how much influence now do the other neighbouring nations in the region have on trying to de—escalate the situation especially in terms of putting pressure on israel? we see iran finding itself somewhat isolated now diplomatically,

we know thejordanian government assisted by essentially shooting down any drones that were flying through its airspace, there was indication that certain arab states unnamed have supported the process here and the operation to prevent these drones and missiles from reaching their targeted destination so at this moment iran really finds itself isolated regionally from its arab neighbours and potential allies so it is difficult to see iran having any better position and anything that it would gain by continuing to escalate further. benjamin radd from ucla. rotors reporting on the messages from iran saying iran award is relevant larger attack on its territory should retaliate against tehran's overnight during a missile attack adding washington had been warned not to back israeli military action. the armed forces chief of staff major general told state

television that are responsible be much larger than tonight's military action if israel retaliates against iran. he added that tehran warned washington any backing of israeli retaliation would in us bases being targeted. the commander of the islamic revolutionary guard salami warned iran would retaliate against any israeli attack on its interests, officials or citizens. another line that has emerged that iran sent a message to the us via switzerland again warning against any further israeli action. that is all coming out of the news agencies. 0bviously out of the news agencies. obviously we are updating all the details as fast as we can't but we just wanted to bring you up—to—date. but i earlier spoke to retired us marine colonel military analyst affairs brendan kearney, who told me what signal iran

is sending with this attack. this is an extraordinarily complex situation that the iranians have clearly sent a message that they don't want to be pushed around and the message is primarily aimed at the arab world. they are very concerned that sometimes they appear to be marginalised in terms of how serious they are and what type of efforts they want to make against israel. likewise, when you look at what the israelis are doing, they have carefully handled it, they have one of the best integrated air defence systems in the world. they, along with some participation byjordan and some yet to be defined american participation have managed to minimise the damage of the attack. there is a lot of symbolism, a lot of rhetoric and the truth is probably going to come out

over the next couple of days as to exactly what has been accomplished by today's efforts and hopefully the cooler heads that will prevail in the coming days. what do we know at the moment about the sort of drones and missiles that were used in the attack? it looks like everything i have read in open source media seems to indicate that these are iranian—made drones, a lot of it has to do with the technology transfer that has come from north korea and

possibly also from russia that the iranians havejury—rigged themselves and used effectively in ukraine with some of the shipments they made to the russians. this is not the most sophisticated technology in the world, by any stretch of the imagination. but a drone that somehow manages not to get shot down and still could do an awful lot of damage. it will be interesting again as part of this entire question as to what is going on and to what is possibly going to be the next wave if there is a next wave of drone attacks or missile attacks against israel. iran put out a statement i think to the un saying that this attack was completed in their view. they obviously had signalled to some degree that this was coming, there were warnings from the us that this was coming. has this been quite carefully calibrated by iran to show that they were responding to that israeli attack while not wanting to escalate things so much

that things really have to spiral? you used a great word there and that's calibrated. i think the iranians needed to respond. the israelis with the attack in damascus basically took the iranians and shoved their head in the dirt. good for the israelis, they felt justification for going after the senior leaders ostensibly were also involved in the october seven attack in israel. iran had to respond, they had to do something. there was some probably calmer heads prevailing in iran that decided as to what their target was going to be. we have seen this so far, what we don't know is is going to be subsequent waves of attacks. that could very well cause a spiralling that the world

is worried about. a response that israel would probably have to take if they felt that this thing was disproportionate to what they did to the iranians. brendan kearney. the 30 with a latest one from iran, reported on rotors that iran has what israel and the us have any further action or retaliation to those overnight drain and with our tax with a warning from the armed forces chief of staff major general tele iranians state tv that are responsible be much larger than tonight was like military action if israel retaliates against iran and the command of the select revolutionary guard wanting to run would retaliate against any israeli attack on its interests, officials or citizens. you are looking at the pictures and sounds of the air raid sirens injerusalem with the israeli

air defence system, the iron dome, an operation, flashes on this plagiarism as missiles and drones were shot down and this is above the skies havejordan ridleyjordanians skies have jordan ridleyjordanians also skies havejordan ridleyjordanians also involved in this defence operation, also there were flashes in the sky as missiles were struck down over damascus in syria. this cooperation brought together the us, uk, jordan, possibly other arab states in defence of the israelis shooting down 99% of what is really safe with 300 drones and missiles. the question now is what is going to be israeli response as everyone calls for calm in the region. this is bbc news. hello there. you might remember that friday had been the warmest day of the year. temperatures reached 21.5 degrees celsius in greater london at both northolt and also at st james's park.

but that figure didn't last very long. it was beaten on saturday. we've got temperatures up to 21.8 degrees celsius at rydell in essex. that now is the highest temperature recorded so far this year. we've got a big drop in temperatures on the way, though, across england and wales. and in some places those temperatures will be dropping by around 7 degrees celsius. you will notice the change as cooler air that we have had across scotland and northern ireland works southwards. now, over the next few hours, we've got a few showers around. they tend to become confined to northern and western areas of scotland. otherwise, the skies are clearing. it's going to be a cold start to sunday morning with temperatures for quite a few places down at around 4 degrees celsius. might be chilly, but there will be plenty of early morning sunshine, clear, blue, sunny skies in many cases. but there will be some coastal showers in western scotland. and through the day, showers become extensive. scotland, northern ireland and a few getting into parts of western england and wales. some of the showers will be heavy with some hail mixed in and those temperatures, yes, will be coming down 15 degrees in london,

7 degrees lower than the temperatures we had on saturday, but actually smack bang on average for this time of the year. now for monday, low pressure is going to be moving southwards and eastwards across the uk. it's going to be a day where we'll see a band of heavy rain move south and eastwards followed by showers. it's a windy day with gusts of wind reaching around 40—50mph, quite widely, but 60 in places. and those strong, gusty winds will blow in frequent showers. again, some of them will have hail mixed in. if anything, temperatures a little bit below average, but factor in the strength of the wind. while i think it will start to feel a little on the chilly side. tuesday and wednesday still see some showers or maybe a few longer spells of rain diving in from the northwest. temperatures probably quite close to average, really. so tuesday, a showery day again, some of the showers with hail. the heaviest downpours and most frequent downpours for parts of scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. temperatures around 11—13 degrees celsius or so. and really, we keep those rather showery weather conditions. i think through wednesday and thursday, there's a trend to seeing something a bit drier

as we get towards friday and into the following weekend as well. bye for now.

this is bbc news. live from jerusalem. israel shoots down hundreds of missiles and drones as iran launches an unprecedented attack.

the iranian retaliatory action comes after israel's strike on its consulate in syria two weeks ago. killed some of its most senior revolutionary guards operating in the region. and live from london, i'm maryam moshiri. president biden reaffirms the us�*s "ironclad" commitment to israel's security, as more britishjets are sent to the region. israel, jordan and iraq reopen their airspaces after closing it late on saturday. and this is the scene live in tel aviv — it was the first time iran had ever launched a direct military assault on israel.