Israeli attacks on a senior leader in Iran’s nuclear program: What have they done, and how can they be used to destroy them?
In July, an Israeli airstrike targeted a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon, killing him. Israel claimed it was responsible for the killing, which they said was in revenge for an attack that killed at least 12 people.
A general who was in charge of Iran’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon was one of the seven people who were killed when Israel bombed a building at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus in April. Iran launched a missile attack on Israel for the first time after a long shadow war, in response to what it claims is an Israeli plot to destroy it.
Thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter in schools across the Gaza Strip in the face of fighting, thanks to the dozens of airstrikes Israel has conducted on them. The Israeli army said the compound was being used as a Hamas “command and control center,” a claim it has repeatedly made in justifying its increasingly frequent strikes on schools serving as shelters.
A series of operations, including assassinations and sabotage, over the years have targeted senior leaders involved with Iran’s nuclear program. These included the poisoning of a nuclear scientist in 2007 and the killing of another in 2010 by a remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle.
The heart of Israel’s nuclear arms program was used as a testing ground for the Stuxnet computer worm. Iran needs to have a nuclear weapon to do so and the destructive program wiped out 20% of their nuclear machines.
The recent attacks on Iran have embarrassed enemies and demonstrated Israel’s prowess at using military technology and intelligence in ways that indicate it can strike anywhere and at any time.
Four people with ties to Iran’s nuclear program were killed by hit men over the course of two years. An assassin put a sticky bomb to a car door in 2010. In one case, a group of people in Iran opened fire on vehicles, shooting through the window before speeding off.
In November 2020, Iran’s top nuclear scientist was killed by gunshots fired from a truckmounted machine gun that was attached to a remote-controlled robotic apparatus. It may have taken years of planning for the operation to happen.
Precise Israeli military strikes on terrorists operating at the al Falah School: Israel’s response to the attack on the timeoun school
Although schools have become regular targets of Israeli strikes, they continue to draw Palestinians seeking shelter because they offer some limited access to plumbing and are seen as somewhat safer than other places in the enclave, which has suffered increasing lawlessness.
widows and orphan children in Gaza get a small payment to help cover food costs, according to the media office for the Gazan government controlled by Hamas. Hunger is a pervasive problem in Gaza, with experts warning this summer that almost half a million people in the territory faced starvation.
In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said it conducted “a precise strike on terrorists” operating at the Al Falah School, which according to statements from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, is connected with the Zeitoun School.
Gaza’s rescue services said the Saturday strike on the Zeitoun School killed mostly women and children, including a 3-month-old infant. Gaza’s health ministry, which usually does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its counts, also said 22 were killed, saying “the majority” of the dead were women and children.
