JERUSALEM — Israel's elite forces carried out a dramatic raid in Syria in September, destroying a secret underground long-range missile factory that also housed information about Syria's chemical weapons program, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF first revealed the mission Thursday in a phone call with reporters.
“This is one of the most important and complex special operations in recent years, during a complex year and a half,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Nadav Shoshani.
The Israel Defense Forces provided spectacular footage of Israeli special forces during a daring mission, as well as footage of a massive explosion in an underground facility after troops cleared it.
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IDF special forces inside a missile complex in Syria, September 2024. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
“The precision-guided missile factory or facility was dug underground into the mountainside,” an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson said.
Information about Syria's chemical weapons program was revealed during the mission.
“I've looked at some of them – notebooks and documents – and a lot of them have very specific chemicals in them,” Shoshani said. “One of them I saw was a chemical handbook that explained how to manufacture missiles at the end of the raid.The military dismantled the facilities, including the machinery and manufacturing, to ensure Israel's security. ”
Assad's regime repeatedly used chemical weapons against its people during the nearly 14-year civil war that tore the country apart. The US-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah played a key role in supporting the Assad regime during the civil war.
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The IDF said the factory was designed to produce 150 to 350 missiles a year, including precision-guided missiles (PGMs). Special forces from the IDF's elite air force, Schardag, participated in the mission. The IDF announced that 30 Syrian soldiers were killed during the operation.
An IDF spokesperson told reporters that the operation “targeted an Iranian-financed precision-guided missile factory in Syrian territory near the Lebanese border. The facility was initially designed for use by Hezbollah. “It was designed to produce hundreds of strategic missiles a year from the beginning to the end.” Air strikes against the Iranian axis in Israel and Syria.
“Due to the special terrain and the underground location of this facility, operations from the air were not possible. Also, last year on September 8, 2024, special forces carried out a targeted night raid on the facility. More than 100 soldiers participated in the raid.'' Dozens of aircraft, including helicopters and other types of aircraft, also arrived by helicopter. ”
Israeli Air Force Shardag special forces raid a missile factory in Syria. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “We pay tribute to our heroic fighters who carried out a bold and successful operation deep in Syria.” “This was one of the most important preventive operations we took against Iranian Axis efforts to arm us to attack us. It is a testament to our boldness and determination to make this happen.”
Following the devastating Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people, including 40 Americans, Israel faces a multi-pronged attack from the Iranian regime. Houthis. and the collapsed Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Israel's Channel 12, told Fox News Digital: “The long-held Israeli view is that Iran operates like an octopus in the Middle East, with Tehran's nuclear program at its head. “The plan was that the weapons were regular terrorists.” Prime Minister Netanyahu's view was that the weapons were intended to harass and occupy Israel, while his mind raced toward nuclear capabilities, so it was better to contain them and focus on the primary threat. .
IDF officials are watching the operation unfold. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
“This perception was shattered on October 7 when it became clear that the weapons were not just a nuisance, but an existential threat.”
A complex kamikaze operation against an underground factory in Syria could also lead to an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear weapons facilities buried deep in the mountains.
“After a year and a quarter dedicated to cutting off the octopus' arm, Israel will in 2025 fully eliminate the conflict that Prime Minister Netanyahu has long sought and that history will judge: the nuclear threat. “We are at a historical crossroads,” Segal said.
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Hezbollah terrorists form a human barrier during the funeral procession of slain Hezbollah commander-in-chief Fuad Shukr in the southern suburbs of Beirut on August 1, 2024. (Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)
An IDF spokesperson said construction of the missile factory in Syria “began at the end of 2017 and ended in 2021 when the manufacturing machinery was sent there from Iran. Most of the parts for the factory were sourced from Iran.”
According to an IDF spokesperson, from October 2023 to November 2024, Hezbollah fired more than 17,000 projectiles at Israel, killing dozens of Israelis.
