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Inside Israel’s daring raid that destroyed Iran-funded underground missile factory in Syria

Published

1 year ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

Inside Israel’s daring raid that destroyed Iran-funded underground missile factory in Syria

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JERUSALEM — Elite Israeli forces conducted a dramatic raid in Syria, destroying a secret underground long-range missile factory that also contained information about Syria’s chemical weapons program in September, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The IDF first revealed the mission Thursday in a call with reporters.

“This is one of our most significant and complex special operations in recent years, even in this complex year and a half,” IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said.

The IDF provided spectacular footage of the Israeli commandos during the daring mission as well as the massive explosion of the subterranean complex after the troops had cleared it.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL REVEALS HOW ‘TO TRULY DEFEAT HEZBOLLAH’

IDF special forces inside a Syrian missile complex in September 2024. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

“The precision-guided missile factory or facility was dug into the side of a mountain underground,” the IDF spokesperson said.

Information about Syria’s chemical weapons program was uncovered during the mission.

“I have seen some of them — notebooks and documents — and a lot of them contain very specific chemicals,” Shoshani said. “One of them that I saw was a chemical handbook that describes how to manufacture a missile at the end of the raid. The troops dismantled the facility, including the machines and the manufacturing, to ensure the safety of Israel.”

Assad’s regime repeatedly used chemical weapons on his population during the nearly 14-year civil war that ripped apart the country. The U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hezbollah played a key role in aiding Assad’s regime during the civil war.

IDF FINDS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS CACHE IN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL: VIDEO

The factory was designed to manufacture between 150-350 missiles a year, including precision-guided missiles (PGM), according to the IDF. Commandoes from the IDF’s elite air force unit Shaldag participated in the mission. The IDF said 30 Syrian soldiers were killed during the operation.

The IDF spokesperson told reporters the operation “was aimed at an Iranian-funded precision-guided missile factory inside Syrian territory near the border with Lebanon. This facility was designed to manufacture hundreds of strategic missiles per year from start to finish for Hezbollah to use in their aerial attacks on Israel and for its Iranian axis in Syria.

“Because of the specific terrain and this facility being underground, we could not operate from the air area. Also, on Sept. 8 last year, 2024, special forces conducted a nighttime targeted raid on the facility. This raid involved over 100 soldiers. There were also dozens of aircraft, including helicopters and other types of aircraft. The forces were flown in by helicopters.”

Israeli air force Shaldag special forces raid a missile factory in Syria. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

“I salute our heroic fighters for the daring and successful operation deep in Syria,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “This was one of the most important preventive operations that we have taken against the efforts of the Iranian axis to arm itself in order to attack us; it attests to our boldness and determination to take action everywhere to defend ourselves.”

After the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel, which resulted in the murder of more than 1,200 people, including 40 Americans, Israel has faced multi-prong attacks from Iran’s regime — the main sponsor of Hamas, Hezbollah; the Houthis; and the toppled Bashar Assad regime in Syria.

Amit Segal, chief political analyst of Israel’s Channel 12, told Fox News Digital, “The Israeli perspective for years was that Iran operates as an octopus in the Middle East, with the head being the nuclear program in Tehran and the arms being the conventional terrorist organizations surrounding Israel. Netanyahu’s view was that the arms were meant to harass and occupy Israel while the head raced toward nuclear capability, and therefore it was preferable to contain them and focus on the main threat.

IDF officials watch as the operation unfolds. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

“This perception shattered on Oct. 7 when it became clear that the arms were not just a nuisance but an existential threat.”

The complex commando raid on the underground Syrian factory could also be a shot across the bow for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities embedded in mountains.

“After a year and a quarter dedicated to severing the octopus’s arms, Israel stands in 2025 at a historic crossroads for the confrontation Netanyahu has long sought and for which history will judge him: eliminating the nuclear threat once and for all,” Segal noted.

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Hezbollah terrorists form a human barrier during the funeral procession of slain top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut’s southern suburbs Aug. 1, 2024. (Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)

The IDF spokesperson said construction on the Syrian missile factory “began at the end of 2017 and ended in 2021 when manufacturing machinery was sent from Iran to the site. Most of the components in the factory were sourced from Iran.”

From October 2023 to November 2024, Hezbollah launched over 17,000 projectiles toward Israel, killing dozens of Israelis, the IDF spokesperson said.

World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

5 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

6 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET