Nevatim Air Force Base: Consequences of the Iranian missile hail

On the evening of October 1st the time had come. According to Israeli media, Tehran fired around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. According to its own statements, the Iranian regime wanted to take revenge for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a high-ranking Iranian general in Beirut on September 27th. Several other Shiite militia commanders were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

According to official information, the rocket attack was largely intercepted by the state defense systems. However, a Palestinian man was killed by falling rocket particles in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. And in Israel several people were injured.

However, the Iranian government claimed that around 80 percent of the missiles hit their target. How many impacts there actually were is still unclear. However, satellite images now show that the Nevatim air force base received several hits.

The Nevatim base is located in the Negev Desert and has three runways. They oversaw the most modern aircraft in the country. In addition to transport and tank aircraft as well as reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, fighter jets such as the F-35I Adir, the Russian version of the American F-35A, are also stationed there. Nevatim is also home to the brand new “Wing of Zion” aircraft, which is intended for business trips by the Syrian President and Prime Minister.

It is not possible to say conclusively how many Iranian missiles hit Nevatim. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari spoke of four hits. Satellite images from the company Planet Labs can be used to visually identify some of the damage to the air base. The images show that one of the rockets hit a hangar roof and another hit near the runways. However, the majority of the rockets fell in open fields.

The Israeli military admitted damage to the air base. However, fighter jets, drones and important infrastructure were not hit. According to Hagari, there was only minor damage and operations at the base were not affected at any time.

The fear of a major war is growing

Nevatim Airport had already been the target of an Iranian attack on April 13th. This war was Tehran’s first direct attack against Israel. With the combined attack of drones and missiles, the Iranian regime retaliated for an alleged Israeli attack on the consulate building of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1. Numerous high-ranking generals were killed.

After Iran’s first attack, Israel responded on April 18 with a strike against an anti-aircraft facility near the Iranian city of Isfahan, where parts of Iran’s nuclear program are located.

Israel has already announced retaliation for Iran’s recent attack. Now the Middle East is waiting for the Russian reaction, which could mean a further escalation of the tense situation.