Dubai, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian attack on an Israeli air base in the desert last week as part of Tehran’s unprecedented assault on the country damaged a taxiway, a satellite image analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows.
The overall damage caused to the Nevatim air base in southern Israel was minor despite Iran launching hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Israeli air defenses and fighter jets, backed by the United States, the United Kingdom and neighboring Jordan, shot down the vast majority of the incoming fire.
But last weekend’s Iranian attack showed Tehran’s willingness to use its vast arsenal of ballistic missiles directly against Israel as tensions remain high across the Middle East over the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. An apparent Israeli retaliatory attack on Friday against Isfahan, Iran, and Tehran’s muted response suggest that both countries want to back off their long shadow war for now, although risks of a broader conflagration in the region remain.
The Planet Labs PBC image, taken Friday for the AP, shows fresh asphalt along a taxiway near hangars in the southern part of Nevatim air base, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Jerusalem . The Haaretz newspaper, which published low-resolution images of the site on Thursday, identified that nearby hangars housed C-130 cargo planes piloted by transport squadrons.
The satellite image corresponds to images previously released by the Israeli military, which showed construction crews working on the damaged taxiway. A hangar in the background of the video reflects those seen nearby.
Other images released by the Israeli military showed a crater in the sand and damage beneath what appeared to be a wall that it said came from the Iranian attack. The little visible damage seen at the air base in the satellite image directly contradicts Iran’s efforts to present the attack as a major victory to a public alienated by the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy and its harsh crackdown on dissent. in recent years.
“This operation became a sign of the power of the Islamic Republic and its armed forces,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday. “It also showed the steely determination of our nation and our wise leader, the commander of all forces.”
However, it does show that Iran’s arsenal has the capacity to reach Israel, as the April 13 attack marked the first direct military assault on the country by a foreign nation since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched Scud missiles. against Israel in the 1991 Gulf War.