On 26 October 2024, Israel launched three waves of strikes against 20 locations in Iran and other locations in Iraq, and Syria, codenamed Operation Days of Repentance () by Israel. It was the largest attack on Iran since the Iran–Iraq War. Israel said the strikes were launched in response to the Iranian strikes against Israel earlier that month.
Israel informed Iran a few hours ahead of the attack what would be targeted, and warned Iran against responding. According to the Israeli military, the strikes targeted Iranian military sites, including air-defense batteries, a UAV factory, and missile production facilities, with all Israeli aircraft returning safely. The Israeli attack involved over 100 aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters, traveling and using heavy munitions. Some of the aircraft breached Iranian airspace. A preceding attack on Syria reportedly targeted radar defenses. An Iranian news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that military installations in western and southwestern Tehran, as well as bases in the Ilam and Khuzestan provinces, were attacked. Four Iranian Army soldiers were reportedly killed. An Israeli official said that following the strikes targeting Iranian air defence and ballistic missile sites, Israel could now operate with greater freedom in Iranian airspace.
The IDF stated it has completed "precise and targeted strikes" in response to "months of continuous attacks" from Iran and its proxies, as well as a recent barrage of Iranian missiles on Israel on 1 October. US officials confirmed that the US was briefed in advance but did not participate in the operation. Following the attack Iran imposed military censorship over its damaged sites.
According to a U.S. assessment, the strikes crippled Iran's missile production capability, estimating it would take at least a year for Iran to rebuild the destroyed components necessary to resume production. U.S. and Israeli officials said that most of Iran's air defense network, including nearly all of its advanced S-300 systems, were destroyed, paving the way for potential future Israeli strikes.
Background
Earlier skirmishes Iran and Israel have been engaged in a covert conflict for years. Iran has utilized the "Axis of Resistance", a network of Iranian-backed militant groups, to target Israeli interests, while Israel has reportedly carried out assassinations of high-ranking Iranian officials and nuclear scientists and launched cyberattacks against Iran. Israel views Iran as its primary threat due to the Iranian leadership's rhetoric advocating for Israel's destruction, their backing of militant organizations, and the nation's nuclear program. Tensions between the countries have escalated further following Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel. Following the attack, factions within the "Axis of Resistance," notably Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen's Houthi movement, launched assaults on Israel and Red Sea shipping, triggering the Hezbollah-Israel conflict and the Red Sea Crisis. Iran has poured considerable resources into bolstering these groups’ military capabilities and fostering cohesion, aiming for a coordinated Axis effort to dismantle the Jewish state in any large-scale confrontation with Israel.
On 1 April 2024, Israel bombed a consular building in the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, Syria. The attack killed 16 people, including multiple Iranian officers and proxy fighters. Most notably, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander for the Quds Force, was killed in the airstrike. Iranian officials in the building were allegedly meeting with Palestinian militant leaders at the time of the attack. In response, Iran and its proxies struck Israel on 13 April, targeting military bases. On 19 April, Israel struck an air defense facility in Isfahan, Iran in retaliation. The strikes were limited and de-escalated tensions.
On 31 July, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran by an apparent Israeli attack. Iran vowed to retaliate.
On 17 September, Israel adopted a new war goal: to return civilians displaced by Hezbollah back to their homes in northern Israel. Later that day and the next, thousands of communications devices (including pagers and walkie-talkies) exploded simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria, with Israel aiming to attack Hezbollah members. The attack killed 42 people. In response, Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on northern Israeli cities and towns, including Nazareth, on 22 September. On 23 September, Israel killed two of Hezbollah's top commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe, in Dahieh, south of Beirut. On 23 September, Israel began a series of strikes in southern Lebanon.
On 27 September, an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh killed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah. The attack also killed Ali Karaki, the Commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front and Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of the IRGC and commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon.
In response to the killings of Haniyeh, Nilforoushan, and Nasrallah, Iran struck Israel, damaging military bases, in what was the largest attack of the 2024 Iran–Israel conflict. Israel said it had shot down most of the missiles and there had been no harm to its Air Force's capabilities. The US Navy and Jordan also reported intercepting missiles. The two fatalities caused by the attacks were a Palestinian man killed directly by missile debris and an Israeli man indirectly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "big mistake" and vowed that Iran "will pay" for it.
According to US officials speaking anonymously, Israel assured the Biden administration it would refrain from targeting Iran's nuclear and oil facilities, focusing instead on military sites. With the 2024 United States presidential election nearing, American officials worried about being pulled into a wider Middle Eastern conflict. US President Joe Biden asked Netanyahu to plan a retaliation that would "deter further attacks against Israel while reducing risks of further escalation."
Leak of intelligence on the attack
Strikes Locations + Operation Days of RepentanceAirstrike targetDamage informationParchin military complexTaleghan 2 nuclear weapons research facility destroyedTwelve "planetary mixers" in three solid-propellant facilities struckKhojir military complexDamage to the military complex occurredImam Khomeini International AirportOne S-300 missile system destroyedShahroud Space CenterThe IRGC Shahroud Missile Facility was damaged at the missile facility Abadan Oil Refinery Air defense site struck Bandar Imam Khomeini Petrochemical Complex Air defense site at the complex struck Bandar Imam Khomeini Port Air defense site at the port struck Tang-eh Bijar Gas Field Several air defense sites struck Shamsabad Industrial City The Taksaz Industrial Innovators Engineering Company (TIECO) factory was damagedAhvaz radar siteA Ghadir radar north of Ahvaz was destroyedIlam radar siteA Ghadir radar near Ilam was destroyedParand military complexDamage to the military complex occurred from several drone strikesHazrat Amir Brigade Air Defense SiteOne S-300 missile system destroyed at the air defense site
Timeline
In the early hours of 26 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began conducting airstrikes on military targets in Iran. The IDF stated that the strikes were conducted in response to the Iranian strikes against Israel on 1 October and due to militant actions by proxy members of the Axis of Resistance. Just prior to the attacks, Israel notified the United States' Biden administration about the impending attacks on Iran. The strikes continued through the night until dawn in Iran, marking Israel's first openly acknowledged attack on the country. This was the first time since the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) that Iran has faced such a prolonged assault from a foreign adversary.
The Jerusalem Post reported that over 100 aircraft, including F-35 Lightning II Adir stealth fighters from Nevatim Airbase, traveled roughly for the attack, deploying heavy munitions with extensive refueling support and the IAF search and rescue force Unit 669 on standby. Some of the aircraft breached Iranian airspace. A preceding operation on radar sites in Syria prevented Iran from gaining intelligence on Israel's intentions. A video released by the IDF after the attack showed F-15C/D Eagle Baz jets from Tel Nof Airbase and an F-16I Sufa jet from Ramon Airbase preparing for it (see video stills to the right).
Beginning at 1:48 a.m. local time, sirens and alarms went off continuously for 30 minutes across the Ankawa neighborhood of Erbil, Iraq, with loudspeakers at Irbil airport's military base repeating the word "bunkers". Iranian State Television issued reports of explosion noises throughout Tehran. Two Arab officials stated that the attack had appeared to target a weapons depot and a military office or barracks. Explosions were also reported in the city of Karaj, located just west of Tehran, and near Imam Khomeini International Airport, Mashhad, Kermanshah, and Zanjan.New York Times, "Live Updates: Israel Launches Airstrikes Against Iran in Retaliatory Attack Explosions were also heard near Damascus, Syria. Al Jazeera posted a video showing Iran's air defense activate in the skies of Tehran. Al Araby TV showed damage from Israeli strikes to a military drone factory in Shamsabad, south of Tehran. Iran later confirmed that strikes had also occurred in Ilam province and Khuzestan.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel had targeted an Iranian UAV factory as well as a secret base in Tehran. It was also reported that Russian made S-300 Iranian batteries as well as ballistic missile sites were attacked.
According to two Iranian officials, one affiliated with the IRGC, Israel's strikes in Tehran Province targeted key defense sites, including the S-300 air defense system at Imam Khomeini International Airport, which helps protect the capital.
The officials reported that multiple IRGC missile bases were hit in the province, followed by a second wave of drone strikes targeting the Parchin military complex on Tehran's outskirts with one drone reportedly reaching the base. The latter site has long been cited by Israel as a site of suspected nuclear weapons-related activity, with the IAEA reportedly finding related evidence there in 2016. David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear weapons inspector, noted that commercial satellite images, though low resolution, indicated that three buildings in Parchin were damaged, including two involved in mixing solid fuel for ballistic missile engines.
Iranian outlets reported that two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers were killed. Images released by Fars News Agency showed that the soldiers belonged to Iran's Air Defense Force, suggesting that SAM systems were targeted, possibly increasing Iran's vulnerability to future attacks.
According to U.S. officials, Israel targeted critical components of Iran's ballistic missile infrastructure, destroying 12 planetary mixers essential for producing solid-fuel missiles. Thus crippling Iran's capability to replenish its missile stockpile. U.S. officials added that it would take Iran at least a year to resume its missile production. U.S. and Israeli officials said that most of Iran's air defense network, including nearly all of its advanced S-300 systems, were destroyed. Paving the way for potential future Israeli strikes which could be aimed at Iran's nuclear program or its oil infrastructure.
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