The IDF published a statement commemorating one year since the Israeli Air Force carried out a number of aerial attacks against Iranian military targets in retaliation for previous Iranian strikes against Israel, destroying ballistic missile launch sites and weapons manufacturing facilities.
On October 1, 2024, Iran launched approximately 180 ballistic missiles towards Israel, Tehran’s second large-scale direct assault of the year.
Early on October 26, 2024, over 100 Israeli aircraft entered Iranian airspace, conducting “precise and targeted strikes against military targets in several areas across Iran,” according to the IDF statement.
Targets included arms manufacturing facilities that reportedly produced ballistic missiles intended to be used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces against Israel. “In addition, the Israeli Air Force dismantled several advanced surface-to-air missile arrays,” the statement continued.
Operation Rising Lion
The move “expanded aerial freedom of action over Iranian airspace,” and was celebrated as having created an “operational advantage” ahead of June’s Operation Rising Lion.
Operation Rising Lion was a joint Israeli-American attack that crippled Iranian nuclear capabilities and destroyed even more IRGC military infrastructure.