Last year marked the first time Israel and Iran exchanged direct attacks. In April 2024, Iran launched a massive drone and missile barrage at Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Damascus. Israel answered with a limited strike inside Iran days later. Tensions rose again in September 2024, when Israeli special forces raided an Iranian missile production site near Masyaf, Syria. Weeks later, Israeli airstrikes in Beirut killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran by a mysterious explosion. Iran responded by firing roughly 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli military bases, the most direct and large-scale attack on Israel by Iran to date.
