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List of Israel Defense Forces operations

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Since its establishment in 1948, the modern State of Israel has been involved in a series of military operations (in addition to seven recognized wars) which all compose the military aspect of the complex Arab–Israeli conflict.

The following list centralizes the main and most notable military operations conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces sorted in chronological order and divided into the main time periods of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict for easier navigation.

1948–1967

1948 Arab–Israeli War

1956 Suez Crisis

  • Operation Kadesh (October 29 - November 6, 1956) – Israeli armored thrust into the Sinai Peninsula.

Additional Israeli military operations

1967–1993

1967 Six-Day War

  • Operation Focus (1967) – Israeli Air Force bombing of Egyptian airfields, expanded to include Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi airfields as well (also known as Moked, its Hebrew name).

1967–1970 War of Attrition

  • Operation Inferno (Hebrew: Tofet) (1968) – Israeli raid against PLO militants in the Jordanian town of Karameh (on the east bank of the Jordan river).
  • Operation Boxer (1969) – A series of attacks by the Israeli Air Force on Egyptian SAM installations
  • Operation Bulmus 6 (1969) – Israeli special operations raid against the Egyptian fortress, early warning radar and ELINT station of Green Island in the Gulf of Suez.
  • Operation Raviv (1969) – Israeli armoured raid across the Gulf of Suez into Egypt. Egyptian radar installation at Ras Abu-Daraj and Ras Za'arfrana were destroyed. Also known as the Ten-Hour War.
  • Operation Rooster 53 (1969) – Israeli special operation to capture an Egyptian P-12 radar system.
  • Operation Priha ("Blossom") (1970) – A concentrated series of Israeli strikes against military targets in the Egyptian heartland.

The 1973 Yom Kippur War

1982 Lebanon War

1987–1993 First Intifada

Additional Israeli military operations

1993–2000

1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict

Additional Israeli military operations

2000–2005

2000–2005 Second Intifada

Additional Israeli military operations

2005–2011

2006 Lebanon War

  • Operation Just Reward (12 July – 14 August 2006) – Israeli counterattack which began with air force bombing of Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon.
    • Operation Sharp and Smooth (August 1–2) – Israel Defense Forces raid on a Hezbollah-run hospital in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
    • Tyre raid (August 4) – Night mission carried out by the Israel Defense Forces frogmen, Shayetet 13, in the southern Lebanon town of Tyre. It targeted the Hezbollah cell responsible for the rocket attack on Hadera on the previous day.
    • Operation Changing Direction 11 (August 11–14) – Final offensive push by the Israel Defense Forces during the Lebanon War.

Additional Israeli military operations

International operations

2011–present

Gaza Strip operations

Other operations

Strikes and alleged strikes in Syria

  • Jamraya airstrike (30 January 2013) – Alleged Israeli airstrike on a Syrian convoy transporting weapons to Hezbollah.[20][21] Other sources stated the targeted site was a military research center in Jamraya responsible for developing biological and chemical weapons.[22]
  • Airstrikes on Syria (May 3 and 5, 2013) – Airstrikes on Syria against long-ranged weapons sent from Iran to Hezbollah.[23][24]
  • Latakia explosion (5 July 2013) – Alleged Israeli airstrike on a Syrian depot containing Russian-made Yakhont anti-ship missiles.[25]
  • Snawbar airstrike (30 October 2013) – Alleged Israeli airstrike at an air defense site in Snawbar.[26]
  • Latakia attack (26 January 2014) – Alleged Israeli airstrike against a Syrian warehouse of S-300 missiles.[27]
  • Beqaa Valley airstrike (24 February 2014) – Two airstrikes against a Hezbollah missile base in Lebanon near the border with Syria.[28]
  • Rif Dimashq airstrikes (7 December 2014) – Alleged Israeli airstrikes in Syria against a warehouse of advanced S-300 missiles, which were en route to Hezbollah in Lebanon.[29]
  • Mazraat Amal airstrike (18 January 2015) – Alleged Israeli airstrike in Quneitra against Hezbollah and Iranian operatives.[30]
  • Qalamoun airstrike (25 April 2015) – Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah camps and weapons convoys in two brigade bases of Qalamoun region.[31]
  • Bekaa Valley airstrike (21 June 2015) – Israeli airstrike against targets in Lebanon's western Bekaa Valley.[32]
  • August 2015 Syria Airstrikes (August 20–21 2015) – Israel launched airstrikes in Syria, after four rockets hit the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee.[33]
  • Qalamoun airstrike (31 October 2015) – alleged Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah targets in southern Syria, including a weapons convoy.[34]
  • November 2015 Israeli airstrike (11 November 2015) – alleged Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport against Hezbollah weapons warehouses.[35]
  • November 2016 Israeli airstrike (30 November 2016) – alleged Israeli airstrike against a Syrian military compound in Damascus and a Hezbollah weapons convoy in the Damascus-Beirut highway.[36]
  • December 2016 Israeli airstrike (7 December 2016) – Alleged Israeli airstrike against the Mezzeh airbase near Damascus.[37] A Syrian opposition group said the target was a convoy of chemical weapons en route to Hezbollah.[38]
  • January 2017 Israeli airstrike (12 January 2017) – Another alleged Israeli airstrike against the Mezzeh airbase near Damascus, targeting an ammunition depot.[39]
  • February 2017 Israeli airstrike (22 February 2017) – Alleged Israeli airstrike on a Hezbollah weapons shipment near Damascus.[40]
  • March 2017 Israeli airstrike (17 March 2017) – Alleged incident in which several S-200 missiles were fired at Israeli jet fighters attacking targets in Syria, and one missile was shot down by an "aerial defense system", likely the Arrow 3.[41][42]
  • April 2017 Israeli airstrike (27 April 2017) – Alleged Israeli airstrike felt in Damascus International Airport. The blast was reportedly felt 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away. Two rebel sources told Reuters that "five strikes hit an ammunition depot used by Iran-backed militias."[43][44]
  • September 2017 Israeli airstrikes (7-21 September 2017) - Israeli airstrikes targeted a chemical facility near the Mediterranean coast (7 September) and an arms depot near Damascus (21 September) [45] [46]
  • October 2017 Israeli airstrike (16 October 2017) – Israeli airstrike destroyed an anti-aircraft battery near Damascus.[47]
  • November 2017 Israeli airstrike (1 November 2017) – Alleged Israeli airstrike south of Homs.[48]
  • December 2017 Israeli airstrikes (3-4 December, 2017) - Israeli airstrikes targeted a military site (3 December) and a scientific research center (4 December), both near Damascus. [49][50]
  • February 2018 Israel–Syria incident (10 February 2018) - An Israeli F-16 was shot down by the Syrian Air Defense Force after conducting an air raid on Iran-backed positions inside Syria. The aircraft was part of a larger Israeli aerial dispatch which Israel said was sent in response to detection of an Iranian drone spying on Israel.[51][52][53][54]
  • May 2018 Israel–Iran incidents (10 May 2018) - After Iranian forces reportedly fired around 20 projectiles towards Israeli army positions in the Golan Heights without causing damage or casualties,[55] Israel responded with airstrikes against Iranian bases in Syria.[56]
  • Syria missile strikes (September 2018) (17 September 2018)
  • Syria says Israeli jets carry out airstrike near Aleppo, targeted several depots at an industrial zone near Aleppo Airport. At least four warehouse guards were killed. (28 March 2019) [57]
  • Syria missile strikes (August 2019) (25 August 2019)
  • Syria missile strikes (November 2019) (20 November 2019)
  • Israeli air force killed 23 Syrian and foreign fighters, including Eight Syrian air defense soldiers on multiple strikes in Rif-Dimashq Governorate and Daraa. (6 February 2020) [58]
  • Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian army and paramilitaries, including Hezbollah fighters positions in south of Damascus and Daraa, killing one civilian, three government troops, and seven foreign fighters. (31 August 2020) [59]
  • Israel launches air strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria. The strikes killed 10, including three Syrian soldiers and at least five Iranians. (18 November 2020) [60]
  • Syria's military reported Israeli warplanes have bombed locations south of the capital Damascus, killing at least eight pro-Iran militias fighters. (24 November 2020) [61]
  • Israeli airstrikes target pro-Iran weapons facilities in Hama, kill 6. Missiles were reportedly launched over Lebanese territory. (25 December 2020) [62]
  • Israeli airstrikes hit sites around Damascus, reportedly killed three Iran-backed fighters. (6 January 2021)[63]
  • Israeli airstrikes on multiple locations in eastern Syria killed 57 regime forces and Shia militia fighters. This was the deadliest attack by Israel forces since the start of the conflict. (12-13 January 2021) [64]
  • Israeli airstrike on Iran's consulate in Syria reportedly killed 2 generals and 5 other officers. (1 April 2024)[65]

See also

End Notes

  1. ^ note - casualty counts in that early report have since been revised.

References

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