UPDATED: Iranian missiles and drones rain down on Israel

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said fewer than 100 missiles were fired in two waves from Iran at Israel.

“Most of these rockets were intercepted or fell short,” IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media.

“There are a limited number of buildings that were hit, some due to shrapnel from interception operations,” he added.

The US military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, according to US officials.

The US interceptions have so far been carried out by ground-based systems, Reuters is reporting, citing one of the officials.

The official said fighter jets and warships had not been used so far. Both US Air Force fighter aircraft and destroyer-based missile defences have intercepted missiles in previous attacks, according to Associated Press.

The Pentagon moved a number of military assets into the region in recent days, including Navy destroyers to be positioned off the Israeli coast to help shoot down missiles and other aerial attacks expected after the Israelis launched their initial attack, NBC News is reporting, citing a US official.

The Jordanian military said on Friday that it had intercepted a number of projectiles over its own territory.

“Airplanes of the [Jordanian] Royal Air Force and air defense systems intercepted a certain number of missiles and drones which penetrated Jordanian airspace on Friday morning,” read an army statement.

Earlier, air raid sirens sounded in the capital, Amman, where the government called on residents to stay at home.

Iran has launched over 100 drones toward Israel in retaliation for large-scale Israeli strikes overnight. Iranian UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) or missiles must generally traverse Iraqi, Syrian and/or Jordanian airspace in order to reach Israel.

Jordan also helped shoot down Iranian weapons the last two times Tehran attacked Israel, in April and October 2024, both of which were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iranian targets.

An Israeli military spokesperson has denied Iranian media reports that an Israeli fighter jet was downed and that its pilot was detained, Reuters reports.

Israel’s denial comes as Iran launched a fresh wave of retaliatory missile attacks over Israel on Saturday evening after Israel launched airstrikes across Iran which killed commanders and scientists.