According to a New York Times report, Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran was carried out under the cover of darkness early Saturday morning. According to some sources in Israel, more than a hundred fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles took off from Israel.
In order to prevent interceptions by Iranian allies, the source added, Israeli planes first attacked air defense batteries and radars in Syria and Iraq.
After clearing the path, Israeli planes flew in the direction of Iran, a distance of more than 1,600 km from Israel – and struck Iran's air defense systems.
According to two of the sources, another wave of attacks targeted facilities producing long-range missiles aiming to hit a critical component in their production process.
Israel refrained from striking energy infrastructure, such as oil and gas production facilities. However, the extent of the damage is still unclear.
Iranian officials stated that their air defense systems were able to minimize the damage, and said that Israel attacked military bases in three provinces – Tehran and two more near the border with Iraq, Ilam and Khuzestan.
During the course of the night, Israel attacked around 20 different sites.
Around 6 A.M. the IDF announced that the operation had ended.