Israel conducts retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian military targets

Updated on Oct. 26, 2024 at 8:57 a.m. ET

The Israeli military launched early Saturday what it called “precision strikes” on Iran in response to the Oct. 1 missile attack that Iran launched against Israel.

In a statement, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: “In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran.“

Israel's attack ended just before sunrise in Tehran, with the Israeli military saying it had "fulfilled its mission" by conducting what it called "targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran."

It said the targets included “missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year," as well as surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian aerial capabilities.”

An official briefed on the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Israel carried out three waves of strikes: the first was on Iran’s air defenses, and the second and third targeted storage and production sites of ballistic missile and drones.

The official said the response was designed to send a warning to Iran, that Israel’s intelligence and air force are far-reaching and would be able to act in the future, but also as a quid pro quo after Iran’s missile strikes on Israel on Oct. 1 and in a way that Iran would be able to contain the situation.

Israel offered no assessment of the damage, but Iranian state media has reported several casualties in Iran, though the Iranian government said there had only been "limited damage."

The Iranian army, according to the country's state-run news agency IRNA, said it had thwarted attacks on military sites in three provinces; Khuzestan in the southwest, Ilam in the northwest, and the region around the capital Tehran. It also said two military personnel had been killed.

It's the latest in a series of retaliations

On Oct. 1, Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were shot down by Israeli air defenses with the help of U.S. forces.

That attack was in response to a series of Israeli assaults on the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which Iran supports, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike and then sending troops across the border into southern Lebanon.

Israel has also pounded Lebanon with airstrikes which it says are aimed at dismantling Hezbollah, but that have over several weeks now killed thousands of people.

Israel and Hezbollah had been in a low-grade war of cross-border fire since Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel. Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas.

Additionally, Iran had previously launched a wave of missiles at Israel in April, the first time the Islamic regime had directly attacked Israel after decades of using proxies to stage attacks.

Saturday's hours-long barrage of aerial strikes on targets in Iran represented the first time that Israel's military forces had openly attacked Iran, and was in fact the first large-scale and public assault on such a wide array of its military infrastructure since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

U.S. official calls the Israeli strikes ‘targeted and proportional’

A senior U.S. administration official told reporters on a late-night conference call that the United States had not been a participant in the military operation, and said that the operation was "targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm." President Biden and U.S. officials had encouraged Israel to pursue a targeted response.

"That appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening," the official said.

But inside Israel, the decision not to target Iran's nuclear facilities or energy infrastructure drew mixed reactions, with former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman posting on social media that "instead of collecting a real price, the Israeli government is once again content with showmanship and public relations. Lieberman, who now heads a political party opposed to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called the limited strikes "buying silence instead of a clear decision."

Another opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said on social media that "the decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong," adding that Israel "could and should have charged Iran with a much heavier price.”

The U.S. official who spoke late Friday on a conference call declined to comment on the targets that were hit, other than to say they were chosen to deter future attacks from Iran.

"It was extensive. It was targeted. It was precise. It was against military targets across Iran. It was, in multiple ways, very carefully prepared. And again, I think it was designed to be effective," the official said.

If Iran responds, the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against an attack, the official said, noting officials had worked to strengthen Israel's air defense systems ahead of Friday.

"The United States is ready to push forward on talks to end the wars in Lebanon and Gaza," the official said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region this week, and there will be "further engagements" and meetings in coming days, the official said.

The White House told reporters that Biden had been briefed by his team and closely followed developments through the evening. Vice President Harris, campaigning in Houston, was also briefed, the White House said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at a meeting of the Commonwealth heads of state in Samoa, called upon Iran not to respond to these latest strikes, and urged all warring parties in the region to de-escalate.

Several countries in the region condemned the Israeli strikes, including Qatar, where the foreign ministry expressed its "deep concern" over what it called a "blatant violation of Iran's sovereignty and a clear breach of the principles of international law."

Egypt, which together with Qatar has been deeply involved in efforts alongside the United States to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, said it condemned the strikes that constituted the kind of measures that "threaten the security and stability of the region."

Saudi Arabia's foreign affairs ministry also said the strikes violated Iran's sovereignty, as well as "international laws and norms."

The Iranian foreign ministry itself called the Israeli strikes a violation of international law and the U.N. charter, according to a social media post from the Tehran Times.

Asma Khalid contributed to this report.