April 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel

Overview

The April 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel were a large drone and missile attack launched by the Iranian regime on the night of April 13–14, 2024. It was the regime’s first direct attack on Israel. More than 300 drones and missiles were launched during the operation, including approximately 170 loitering munitions, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. The barrage threatened civilians across much of Israel as well as military facilities. Its scale and the launch of weapons from Iranian territory marked a departure from the regime’s previous reliance on allied armed groups to attack Israel.

Israeli defenses, the Israeli Air Force and allied forces intercepted most of the incoming weapons. Aircraft stopped the loitering-munition barrage before its drones reached Israel. Israel’s layered air defenses, including Iron Dome, helped protect civilians during the wider attack. United States forces and forces from Britain and other countries also took part. Arab countries participated in Israel’s defense in an unprecedented display of regional cooperation against an Iranian attack.

Four ballistic missiles hit Nevatim air base in the Negev, where some of Israel’s F-35 fighter aircraft were housed. The hits caused limited damage, and the base remained operational. Falling shrapnel seriously wounded a seven-year-old Bedouin girl. No other injuries were reported in the account of the attack. The difference between the size of the barrage and its limited effects reflected advance warning, Israeli defensive preparations and coordinated interceptions by Israel and its partners.

The attack followed an April 1 strike in Damascus that killed senior officers of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including General Mohammed Reza Zahedi. Iran blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Israel did not confirm or deny responsibility for the Damascus strike. Israel subsequently struck an S-300 air-defense radar in Iran in April 2024, demonstrating its ability to reach a military target inside the country.

Background

The Iranian regime had long confronted Israel through its military forces and an armed network operating across the region. The IRGC’s Quds Force directed operations outside Iran, including activities in Syria and Lebanon. Zahedi oversaw the regime’s covert military operations in those two countries. The regime also supported Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that attacked Israel from Lebanon. Those relationships formed part of the setting in which a strike against senior IRGC officers could lead to a wider confrontation.

On April 1, 2024, a strike in Damascus killed Zahedi and six other IRGC officers. Four of the dead were Quds Force officers. Evidence identified the target as an IRGC installation. Iranian officials described the site as a diplomatic facility and assigned responsibility to Israel, but Israel neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the strike. The deaths of the officers are established; Israeli responsibility for their deaths was not confirmed by Israel. This distinction matters because the subsequent Iranian attack was publicly presented by the regime as retaliation for the Damascus strike.

The Iranian regime vowed revenge, and Hezbollah also threatened retaliation. Iranian officials and Hezbollah warned that Israeli embassies were no longer safe. On April 2, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, publicly threatened to punish Israel. His warning made the prospect of a direct strike more immediate. Israeli leaders said their country was prepared to defend itself and respond to attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would defend itself and strike those who harmed it.

Israel began reinforcing its defenses before any Iranian weapons were launched. On April 3, amid the retaliation threats, the Israel Defense Forces called up reservists to strengthen its Aerial Defense Array. Air-defense personnel monitored threats while already on high alert. Israel and the United States prepared for an Iranian response in the days after the Damascus strike. The preparations gave commanders time to organize surveillance, interception and coordination before the attack began.

American involvement reflected Israel’s place in the United States regional security framework. General Michael E. Kurilla, commander of United States Central Command, visited Israel on April 12. He and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant discussed readiness for an Iranian attack and the risk of regional escalation. That same day, President Joe Biden warned that an attack would come “sooner rather than later” and pledged United States help in defending Israel. He ordered American warships and other assets into positions from which they could defend Israel and American troops. Britain and France also supported Israel’s defense.

The attack

On April 13, 2024, the Iranian regime launched drones toward Israel, beginning its first direct attack on the Jewish state. Some of the armed drones were launched from Isfahan in Iran. The operation developed into a combined barrage of loitering munitions, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Weapons also came from locations associated with Iranian-aligned forces elsewhere in the region. Launching different kinds of weapons in succession imposed different demands on Israel’s warning and interception systems.

The drones moved slowly enough that Israeli and allied forces had several hours to track them and prepare interceptions. Approximately 170 loitering munitions were launched; they were most likely Shahed-136 drones. The Israeli Air Force and its allies intercepted the loitering-munition barrage before its drones reached Israel. Their slow flight provided time to place aircraft and air-defense crews where they could engage the incoming weapons, but it also meant that the threat remained active for hours as the drones crossed the region.

Ballistic missiles followed the drones. Their much greater speed gave Israel far less warning time: missiles could arrive within minutes, while the drones required hours. The regime also launched cruise missiles as part of the combined attack. The different flight speeds meant that defenders had to address threats approaching at different times and along different paths. Israeli air-defense forces remained on alert throughout the operation, while aircraft and ground-based systems engaged weapons before they could strike their targets.

Israeli authorities issued instructions intended to protect the population. People across most of Israel were told to head to bomb shelters as incoming threats approached. Educational activities were canceled, and restrictions were placed on public gatherings and other events. The closures affected schools, trips and other organized activities. Israel closed its airspace during the attack, and other countries in the region also closed theirs. These measures disrupted ordinary life but reduced civilian exposure while the scale and direction of the barrage were being assessed.

Israel’s defenses operated as part of a wider effort. United States forces helped intercept incoming weapons, as did British forces. French support and cooperation from Arab countries added to Israel’s defensive capacity. Jordan actively identified and intercepted weapons that crossed its airspace. Regional cooperation also included reported sharing of radar information by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Arab countries’ participation in Israel’s defense during the attack was unprecedented.

The combined defenses prevented most of the more than 300 drones and missiles from reaching their targets. The interception of roughly 170 loitering munitions before they reached Israel was particularly important to the defense of populated areas. Iron Dome was one element of Israel’s broader layered defenses during the IRGC attack. Aircraft, surveillance, allied forces and other Israeli air-defense systems also contributed. The outcome depended on coordination across national forces as well as on the operation of individual weapons systems.

Some ballistic missiles nevertheless struck Nevatim air base in the Negev. Four hits were recorded at the base: one near a runway, two in open areas and one near a building under construction. The strikes caused limited damage, and Nevatim remained operational. Its continued operation mattered because the base housed some of Israel’s F-35 fighter aircraft and was an active part of the country’s military infrastructure. The four hits also show that a largely successful interception effort did not prevent every projectile from landing.

The attack was the first of two direct strikes the Iranian regime launched against Israel after the October 7 attacks of 2023. The second came in October 2024. April’s operation established a new pattern of direct Iranian missile attacks on Israel, while also demonstrating the defensive value of cooperation among Israel, the United States and regional partners. That cooperation continued to matter during the October attack and supported Israel during the June 2025 war.

Victims

The most serious reported injury from the April attack was to a seven-year-old Bedouin girl in southern Israel. Falling shrapnel struck her and caused a severe head injury. She required hospital treatment. Her injury showed that interception did not remove all danger to civilians: fragments from a weapon or its interception could still fall into residential areas. No other injuries were reported in the account of the attack.

The Iranian barrage threatened people well beyond the area around Nevatim. Shelter instructions applied across most of Israel, and the cancellation of educational activities and gatherings affected families, students and communities throughout the country. Airspace closures interrupted travel. These precautions were taken while hundreds of weapons were in flight, before their interception or impact could be known. The fact that most were stopped limited casualties, but the attack placed civilians under a direct missile and drone threat.

Nevatim sustained four hits but continued operating. One projectile landed near a runway, two landed in open areas, and another landed near a building under construction. The limited damage at the air base did not erase the significance of ballistic missiles reaching a military site. At the same time, the recorded injury to the Bedouin child remained the attack’s gravest human consequence in Israel.

Perpetrators and responsibility

The Iranian regime launched the April 13–14 attack, and its IRGC was central to the operation. Iran fired weapons from its own territory, including drones launched from Isfahan, while Iranian-aligned forces elsewhere in the region added to the threat. This direct use of Iranian territory distinguished the attack from earlier assaults carried out principally through armed groups supported by Tehran. The intended targets were in Israel, including military infrastructure and areas where civilians required shelter.

The regime framed the operation as retaliation for the April 1 Damascus strike. Khamenei had promised punishment after the deaths of Zahedi and other IRGC officers. That explanation identifies the regime’s stated reason for the attack; it does not establish Israeli responsibility for the Damascus strike, which Israel did not confirm. The officers killed in Damascus, the IRGC character of the target and the Iranian regime’s subsequent decision to launch drones and missiles are distinct facts in the sequence of events.

Other Iranian-aligned figures publicly endorsed the attack. On April 15, Mahdi al-Mashat congratulated Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi on the strike and defended it as an exercise of Iranian sovereignty. His statement reflected political support for the operation, while responsibility for the direct barrage rested with the Iranian regime that launched it.

Response

Israel’s immediate response centered on protecting civilians and defeating the incoming weapons. The IDF strengthened its Aerial Defense Array before the strike, issued shelter and activity restrictions, and kept air-defense crews at a high state of readiness. The Israeli Air Force fought in the defense of Israel by intercepting incoming threats alongside allied forces. Once the barrage had passed, the continued operation of Nevatim demonstrated that the hits there had not disabled the base.

United States preparations became an active defense during the attack. Biden had pledged support, positioned American assets and maintained close military coordination with Israel. Britain and France also supported Israel. Netanyahu publicly thanked the United States, Britain, France and other countries for their assistance. Their participation helped turn advance warning into a coordinated response to weapons approaching through multiple parts of the region.

Arab participation was a defining feature of the defense. Jordan’s forces engaged weapons crossing the kingdom’s airspace, while reported intelligence sharing by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contributed to the wider effort. Israel’s integration into the United States regional security framework made such coordination possible. The April operation showed how shared warning, military planning and interception could protect Israel against an attack launched from Iran and supported by forces beyond its borders.

Israel subsequently carried out a military response inside Iran. In April 2024, strikes near Isfahan destroyed an S-300 air-defense radar. The target was part of Iran’s system for detecting and defending against aerial threats. By reaching it after the Iranian barrage, Israel demonstrated an ability to strike a military target on Iranian territory. The action followed the direct attack on Israel without repeating its scale.

The April confrontation did not end direct Iranian attacks. The regime launched another missile strike against Israel in October 2024, and the regional security cooperation that helped repel April’s barrage remained significant. April 13–14 stands as the first direct Iranian attack on Israel: a large, staggered assault in which extensive Israeli and allied interceptions limited damage, four missiles hit Nevatim, and falling shrapnel seriously wounded a Bedouin child.