Last night, Iran
launched a major missile
attack (reportedly 180 missiles) on Israel
in retaliation for Israel’s killing of the leader of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in Lebanon. Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organization by many countries – including the US, UK, Canada, and Argentina. Early videos emerging online appear to show Iranian missiles penetrating Israeli air defense and striking Nevetim Air Force Base and Tel Nof Airbase (
Israeli F-35As are based at Nevetim
). At the time of writing, it is unclear if any fighter jets
were damaged.
Iranian missiles apparently strike Israeli F-35 airbase
Multiple missiles can be seen striking (or striking near) the Nevatim Airbase. There is not yet any publicly available information on the impact of the attacks, although this didn’t stop Military Watch Magazine (noted for its promotion of pro-Russian propaganda) from immediately reporting that the “bulk of Nevatim Air Base’s F-35s—over 20 fighters—were destroyed in the attack.” It reported this without evidence. It is even unclear if the F-35s were at the airbase at the time of the attack.
Nevatim Airbase is located around 9 miles from Beersheba in the Negev desert and is one of the largest airbases in Israel – with three runways. Additionally, Iranian missiles apparently targeted an Israeli Mossad headquarters.
Israel was the first country to select the F-35 (locally called the Adir) through the US Foreign Military Sales process (signed in 2010) and was the first to use it in combat. Israel is also the only country the US permits to make select modifications to its prized jet. The Israeli Air Force has around 39 F-35s in operation, with another 36 on order (a planned total of 75 F-35As).
It recently signed a contract to purchase 25 more F-35s (adding to the 50 previously purchased)
.
Iran has a very weak airforce made up of mostly obsolete fighter jets
of questionable combat readiness. It is unlikely Iran has the capability to strike Israel using its air force, instead its main ways to strike Israel are seen as its missiles and its proxies (although its Hezbollah and Hamas proxies are now heavily degraded by Israel).
Second Iranian missile attack since April
The Iranian attack on Israel is the second after Iran launched a major missile and drone attack on Israel in April 2024. Previous to these two strikes, Iran and Israel had long been in a proxy war, but had not attacked each other directly. That earlier attack was in relation to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, in which two Iranian generals died.
The vast majority of the missiles and drones were intercepted by Israel as well as the US, UK, Jordan, and others. A few missiles did make it through and struck Nevatim and Ramon Airbases apparently causing only very minor damage. It was seen as a blow to Iran’s prestige and a testament to the impressive air defense system Israel has.