Iran launched a large-scale drone and missile attack against Israel on the night of April 13–14, 2024, marking its first openly acknowledged direct military strike on Israeli territory after decades of confrontation conducted largely through proxies. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Iran fired more than 300 projectiles, including around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles and over 120 ballistic missiles, describing the operation as a retaliatory response to an April 1 strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus that killed senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers. The attack triggered air raid sirens across Israel and led to the temporary closure of Israeli airspace. Israeli, U.S., and allied air and missile defenses intercepted the overwhelming majority of the incoming weapons, with Israeli officials reporting that about 99% of the drones and missiles were shot down before reaching their targets. According to the IDF, none of the drones and none of the cruise missiles penetrated Israeli airspace, and only a small number of ballistic missiles hit Israel, causing limited damage at Nevatim Air Force Base and severely injuring a child with shrapnel, but resulting in no large-scale casualties. U.S. forces operating from bases in the region, as well as British and other allied assets, played a significant role in downing dozens of projectiles en route to Israel. Iran framed the strike as a “punitive” but limited operation in self-defense and signaled it considered the matter concluded unless Israel responded, while Israel and its partners characterized the interception rate as a strategic success and convened urgent diplomatic consultations, including a G7 discussion and a UN Security Council meeting request by Israel. The episode significantly escalated the regional fallout of the Gaza war, underscoring the risk that Israel–Iran tensions—long managed through covert or proxy actions—could spill into more direct interstate confrontation, with air defenses, alliance coordination, and crisis diplomacy becoming central to containing further escalation.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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