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October 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel

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For the earlier attacks, see April 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel.
October 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel
Part of the 2024 Iran–Israel conflict and the spillover of the Israel–Hamas war
Missile interceptions in Lower Galilee, 19:41 IST
TypeMissile strike
Locations
Weapons launched from Iran
Commanded byIran Ali Khamenei[1]
ObjectiveDamaging or destroying Israeli military facilities,[citation needed] in response to the attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Ismail Haniyeh and Abbas Nilforoushan
Date1 October 2024
Executed by Iran
Casualties1 Palestinian civilian killed (by intercepted rocket);[2] 2 Israeli civilians lightly injured[3]

On 1 October 2024, Iran launched about 200 missiles towards Israel in at least two waves,[4][5][6] causing sirens to sound across the country. Explosions were reported overhead across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.[4] One Palestinian was killed by an intercepted rocket,[2] and several others were injured due to rocket fragments falling over Jericho.[3]

Iran said the attack was in retaliation to the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and other senior commanders in an airstrike that destroyed their underground headquarters in Beirut, and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and Abbas Nilforoushan.[4] The killing of Nasrallah delivered a significant setback to the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance," a network of proxy Islamist militias that Iran has long employed to target both Israel and Western interests in the Middle East.[7] The October strikes marked the second time Iran openly attacked Israel from its own territory, following another attack in mid-April 2024.[8]

Background

Iranian strikes in April 2024

Main article: April 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel

On 13 April 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in collaboration with several Iranian-backed Islamist militas, launched retaliatory attacks against Israel with loitering munitions, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.[9] Iran said it was retaliation for the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1 April,[10] which killed two Iranian generals.[11] The strike sent around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles toward Israel and the Golan Heights.[note 1]

Israel said that the coalition whose defensive efforts were codenamed Iron Shield,[12] destroyed 99 percent of the incoming weapons,[13][14][15] most before they reached Israeli airspace.[16] American, British, French, and Jordanian air forces also shot some down.[17][18][19] The missiles caused minor damage to the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, which remained operational.[20][21][22] In Israel, a 7-year-old Israeli Bedouin girl was struck and injured by part of a missile, and 31 other people either suffered minor injuries while rushing to shelters or were treated for anxiety.[20][21] The attack was the largest attempted drone strike in history,[23][24] Iran's attacks drew criticism from the United Nations, several world leaders, and political analysts, who warned that they risk escalating into a full-blown regional war.[25][26][27][28] Israel retaliated by executing limited strikes on Iran on 18 April 2024.[29] The Israeli strike reportedly destroyed an air defense radar site guarding the Natanz nuclear facility, aiming to communicate Israel's capabilities to strike Iran without escalating tensions further.[30]

Prior escalation in the Middle East

In September 2024, a major escalation took place in the Hezbollah–Israel conflict that started after the Iranian-backed group initiated attacks against Israel, a day after Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel. During this month, Hezbollah suffered major setbacks that degraded its capabilities[31][32] and devastated its leadership,[33][34] including the 17 and 18 September explosions of its handheld communication devices and the 20 September assassination of Ibrahim Aqil, commander of the elite Redwan Force.[35][36] Airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also targeted Hezbollah's military bases, command centers, airstrips, and weapons caches across southern Lebanon.[37] These setbacks culminated in the 27 September assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and other senior commanders, including Ali Karaki, commander of Hezbollah in south Lebanon, in an airstrike that destroyed their underground headquarters in Beirut's Dahieh suburbs.[38][39] Several days later, on 1 October 2024, Israel launched a ground operation into southern Lebanon, which, according to the IDF, aimed at dismantling Hezbollah's forces and infrastructure that posed a threat to civilian communities in northern Israel.[40][41][42] These events delivered a significant setback to the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance," a network of proxy Islamist militias that Iran has long employed to target both Israel and Western interests in the Middle East.[7] It has been suggested that with the leadership of Hezbollah decimated and other militias weakened, the Iranian regime, already unpopular with its citizens and vulnerable to attacks, may accelerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons.[7][43][44]

Strikes

According to the IDF, around 200 missiles were fired by Iran in at least two waves.[45][46][47] Iranian launch sites included Tabriz, Kashan, and the outskirts of Tehran.[48] According to a senior Iranian official, the order to launch missiles at Israel came from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who stayed in a secure location.[49] Iran's claim of responsibility for the attack was broadcast on state television, within the statement was a warning that it was only a "first wave", without further elaboration.[50]

Two Israeli civilians have been reportedly lightly injured by the strikes,[51] while a Palestinian civilian identified as Sameh al-Asl, a laborer originally from Gaza, was killed[52] and several others injured by rocket fragments in Jericho.[53][3]

Reactions

In the hours prior to the attacks, the United States warned about a possible Iranian attack.[54] A U.S. official told Reuters, "A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran".[55] Anonymous Pentagon officials stated that the U.S. troops that were stationed in the Middle East weren't attacked during the event.[56] In response to the attack, Israel, Iraq, and Jordan closed their airspaces. Israel also reported that its security cabinet was convening in a bunker in Jerusalem.[57][58][59]

U.S. senator Lindsey Graham called for Iran's missile attack to be a "breaking point" and urged the Biden administration to coordinate "an overwhelming response" with Israel against Iran, saying that this was a moment of decision "for the free world regarding Iran". Senator Marco Rubio said that a large scale retaliation was "certain to follow".[60]

Israeli minister of finance Bezalel Smotrich commented on the situation, stating, "Like Gaza, Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon, Iran will regret the moment."[61]

Iran

According to the IRGC, Iran has threatened to carry out "crushing attacks" if Israel responds.[6] Khamenei is reported to be staying in a secure location.[62]

Iran has suspended all flights at Tehran International Airport following the missile attacks, which prompted an immediate threat of retaliation. The suspension of flights was confirmed by the airport's chief, according to Iranian media.[63]

Iran's "axis of resistance"

Hamas congratulated the IRGC for the attacks "on large areas of our occupied territories", saying it was "in response to the occupation’s ongoing crimes against the peoples of the region, and in revenge for the blood of our nation's heroic martyrs; the martyr Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the martyr His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and the martyr Major General Abbas Nilforoushan."[64]

Notes

  1. ^ Internationally recognized as Syrian territory, occupied and claimed by Israel, recognized as Israeli territory by the United States

References

  1. ^ Walters, Joanna. "Second wave of missiles seen above Jerusalem as Iran launches attack". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c "Iran's IRGC say attack on Israel response to killing of Nasrallah". Al Jazeera. 1 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Israel military says Iran missile attack over, citizens can leave shelters". Reuters. 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Second wave of missiles seen above Jerusalem as Israel says Iran has launched attack – Middle East crisis live". The Guardian. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
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