Israel admitted on Saturday that Iranian drones had successfully penetrated its air defences and reached targets deep within its territory, in what marks the first official acknowledgment of such an incident.
The escalation comes amid intensifying regional tension between Tel Aviv and Tehran.
According to Israeli media, Iran launched a coordinated drone attack in the early hours of Saturday morning, involving several types of unmanned aerial vehicles, including suicide drones. Sirens were activated in multiple areas across Israel as a result.
"For the first time, Israel admitted today, Saturday, that Iranian drones were able to bypass interception systems and reach deep inside Israeli territory, hitting their targets," the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported.
Two Iranian drones were confirmed to have fallen inside Israeli territory: one in the city of Beit She'an in the northeast, and another in an "open area" in Yotvata, near the southern city of Eilat.
The latter struck along Highway 90, which stretches from Israel's northernmost to southernmost points. No casualties were reported.
From early Saturday morning, air raid sirens sounded across different regions including the Arabah Valley, the Negev (Naqab) Desert, and Eilat in the south. Sirens were also heard in Meron, Safed, and Beit She'an in the north, following Iran’s launch of at least ten drones toward eastern areas of Israel.
Particularly notable was the sounding of sirens in the Rotem industrial zone in the south, which lies in close proximity to Israel’s nuclear research facility in the northeastern Negev desert.
In an official statement, the Israeli military said: "Following the sirens that sounded due to the infiltration of enemy aircraft between 10:41 and 10:45 in the Beit She'an area, unmanned aircraft launched from Iran towards Israel were identified. Interception attempts were carried out, and a drone was shot down in the area."
Regarding further alerts in the south, the army added: "Concerning the sirens that sounded between 10:55 and 11:01 in the Wadi Araba area, the infiltration of unmanned aircraft launched from Iran towards Israel was observed, and interception attempts were carried out. The details are under investigation."
Maariv also revealed that since the onset of hostilities, Iran has launched approximately 1,100 drones toward Israel. Of these, 300 have been intercepted, including 200 within Syrian airspace. The remaining 700, according to the Israeli military’s assessment, "never reached the Israeli border and fell en route".
Israel uses multiple systems to counter these aerial threats, including the Iron Dome missile defence system, 'Hunter' helicopters, and the Barak (Lightning) naval air defence system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries to protect warships, gas platforms, and key shipping lanes.
Video clips circulated Saturday showed the launch of interceptor missiles in response to the drone incursion, highlighting the seriousness of what is now an openly acknowledged breach of Israel’s layered air defence network.