With the war in the Gaza Strip beginning a new phase after Israeli forces entered the southern city of Rafah, a coalition of Iraqi militias claimed six missile and drone strikes in one day against Israel and threatened to further escalate their offensive.
The attacks were claimed Thursday by a coalition of militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and involved the alleged targeting of Israel's Nevatim Air Base in Beersheba, the southern port city of Eilat, the Ashkelon oil terminal, a base in the northern border town of Elifelet, a platform in the Leviathan offshore gas field and the Ovda Air Base. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately report on the purported strikes.
The attacks were said by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to have been conducted "in continuation of our approach to resisting the occupation, in support of our people in Gaza, and in response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against Palestinian civilians, including children, women and the elderly." The coalition also asserted that "the Islamic Resistance confirms its continued destruction of enemy strongholds."
The strikes came as part of an ongoing campaign launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and other factions of the Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" against Israel since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an unprecedented surprise attack.
As Israeli troops continue to battle the group seven months later, the IDF announced on Monday the beginning of joint aerial and ground operations against the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a bid to uproot Hamas' presence and dismantle suspected cross-border arms smuggling operations.
The Israeli operations began despite protests from U.S. officials who cited humanitarian concerns over an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians believed to be taking shelter in Rafah. With IDF activities underway, U.S. President Joe Biden has suspended one shipment of offensive weapons and has threatened to withhold further military assistance if an all-out offensive began.
As Israel continues to face hostile fire from multiple fronts, Iraqi militias accused the country of conducting an airstrike on a media and cultural center on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Wednesday. The IDF has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the strike, but reports of Israeli involvement, which would mark the latest episode in a years-long campaign of Israel targeting Iran-linked targets in Syria, drew strong reactions on the ground.
One of the most prolific Islamic Resistance in Iraq groups, known as the Nujaba Movement, or Hezbollah al-Nujaba, asserted in a statement Thursday that Israel "has continued in its tyranny, brutality and arrogance, targeting the media and cultural center that spread their scandals and brutal crimes against humanity, and in this targeting the lie of culture and peace promoted by the West was revealed to the public as an exposed lie."
The Nujaba Movement declared that "our response will be sudden, strong and effective" and touted the capabilities of its drones and missiles to reach within Israel. Echoing the Islamic Resistance in Iraq's statement, the group said that "the Islamic Resistance confirms its continued destruction of enemy strongholds."
Meanwhile, another faction affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Ashab al-Kahf, also issued a statement on the alleged Israeli strike in Syria, condemning what spokesperson Abu Murtaja al-Husseini called a "heinous" attack on the purported media and cultural center.
"At a time when the world is witnessing the brutal oppression that daily affects students and university professors by the governments and authorities of Western countries who are convinced of the protection of science and development, Husseini said, "the Zionist enemy has come and proven with this aggression that its foundations and the foundation of its supporters stem from a single swamp of ignorance that fights awareness and science alongside their terrorism and arrogance."
Husseini also asserted that the group would press on with its campaign of strikes against Israel in support of Palestinians and the residents of the Damascus neighborhood in which the reported Israeli strike occurred.
"We affirm that the resistance drones will not stop until the Zionist crime stops, and that we are still committed to our brothers in the Palestinian resistance," he added. "We will continue to destroy the strongholds of the Zionist enemy to avenge the blood of the free people of Zakia."
Newsweek has reached out to the IDF, the Nujaba Movement and Ashab al-Kahf for comment.
Israeli officials have repeatedly denied accusations of violating international law throughout the conflict in Gaza and have accused Iran of directly sponsoring the broader "Axis of Resistance" coalition that includes militias in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Iran has denied exerting command and control over such groups but openly supports their actions.
Syria has proven to be an especially volatile frontline in the long-standing feud between Iran and Israel. An Israeli airstrike on a building attached to Iran's embassy in Damascus last month sparked the first-ever direct exchange of attacks between the longtime rivals.
In addition to the campaign mounted by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, claimed on Thursday to have targeted two "Israeli" ships, the MSC Diego and MSC Gina, in the Gulf of Aden as well as well two more attacks against the MSC Vittoria in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.
Hezbollah claimed at least seven new attacks Thursday against northern sites in northern Israel. The IDF announced several new attacks from the group and said that Israeli forces intercepted two drones coming from Lebanon and launched a number of airstrikes across the south of the neighboring country.
In video remarks delivered on Thursday, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that some 115 targets had been struck in southern Lebanon over the past week, including 20 strikes conducted in the vicinity of Ramyeh on Wednesday alone.
"These strikes are part of the effort to damage the Hezbollah terror organization and push it away from the contact line. Hezbollah responds with fire, and unfortunately, there are also casualties and injuries," Hagari said, noting the deaths of three 551st Brigade soldiers in the past week.
Hagari reported on new operations being conducted by the IDF's 162nd Division in eastern Rafah, where he said evidence had emerged that "supports the intelligence we had—Hamas used the area of the Rafah Crossing for terrorism."
"We found several terrorist tunnel shafts in the area, which we are currently investigating and scanning, and so far, our forces have eliminated approximately 50 terrorists in this area during encounters and air strikes, and also during scans in the area," Hagari said. "Currently, the divisional forces are continuing to operate against terror targets in the area."
At the same time, U.S.-backed talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt continue in search of a potential ceasefire deal that would also pave the way for the release of up to 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
"This evening, we also remember our supreme mission and our obligation to the hostages still held in Gaza," Hagari said. "We continue and will continue to do everything to create the conditions for the return of the hostages and our dear ones home as quickly as possible."
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Based in his hometown of Staten Island, New York City, Tom O'Connor is an award-winning Senior Writer of Foreign Policy ... Read more
