April 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel

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On 13 April 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq,^[3] Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the Ansar Allah (Houthis), launched retaliatory attacks against Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights^{[note 2]} with loitering munitions, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.^[14] The attack was codenamed by Iran as Operation True Promise (Persian: وعده صادق, romanized: va'de-ye sādeq).^[15][16] Iran said it was retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on 1 April,^[17] which killed two Iranian generals.^[18] The strike was seen as a spillover of the Israel–Hamas war and marked Iran's first direct attack on Israel since the start of their proxy conflict.^[19]

Several countries in the Middle East^{[note 3]} closed their airspace a few hours before Iran launched a standoff attack against Israel around midnight on 13 April. Iran's attack sent around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles toward Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.^{[note 2]} The Israel Defense Forces used Arrow 3 and David's Sling systems to shoot down many of the incoming weapons.^[20][21] American, British, French, and Jordanian air forces also shot some down.^[22][23][24] France, which intervened at Jordan's request,^[25] deployed warships to provide radar coverage. Jordan said it had intercepted objects flying into its airspace to protect its citizens.^[26]

Israel said that the coalition, whose defensive efforts were codenamed Iron Shield,^[27] destroyed 99 percent of the incoming weapons,^[28][29][30] most before they reached Israeli airspace.^[31] A U.S. official said that at least nine Iranian missiles had struck two Israeli airbases, causing minor damage.^[5] Some of the ballistic missiles were shot down in space by the Arrow system.^[32] The missiles caused minor damage to the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, which remained operational.^[33][34][35] 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. Jordan reported some shrapnel falling on its territory, causing little damage or injuries.^[33][34] The next day, Iran's envoy to the United Nations stated that the attacks "can be deemed concluded".^[36]

The attack was the largest attempted drone strike in history,^[37][38] intended to overwhelm anti-aircraft defenses. It was the first time since Iraq's 1991 missile strikes that Israel was directly attacked by the military of another state.^[39] 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.^{[40][41][42][43]} Israel retaliated by executing limited strikes on Iran on 18 April 2024.^[44]

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