IDF Releases Footage From Raid It Carried Out On Underground Iranian Missile Factory

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declassified footage on Thursday showing a raid that IDF commandos carried out on September 8th, 2024, deep inside Syrian territory on an underground Iranian missile manufacturing plant.

The raid from the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) Shaldag Unit was the result of years worth of “extensive intelligence gathering and monitoring,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The soldiers landed using helicopters, with fire and intelligence-gathering support from aircraft, fighter jets, and naval vessels of the Israeli Navy,” the IDF said. “The compound was a flagship project for Iran’s efforts to arm its terror proxies on Israel’s northern border. The compound included advanced assembly lines designed to manufacture precision-guided missiles and long-range rockets, significantly increasing the supply of missiles to Hezbollah and other Iranian terror proxies in the region.”

“During the operation, the forces reached critical machinery for manufacturing precision missiles, including a planetary mixer, numerous weapons, and intelligence documents, which were transferred for investigation,” the statement continued. “The soldiers destroyed the compound and safely returned to Israeli territory.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he was proud of the commandos for the “bold and successful operation deep inside Syria.”

“This is one of the important countermeasures we have taken against the Iranian axis’ attempts to arm itself to harm us, and it testifies to our determination and courage to act everywhere to protect ourselves,” he added.

WATCH:

The Israeli military declassified intelligence on a commando raid that destroyed an Iranian-funded and supported underground compound for manufacturing precision missiles in Syria:

On September 8, 2024, over 100 Shaldag commandos raided an underground compound in Masyaf, Syria.… pic.twitter.com/IacE7zQrt2

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 2, 2025

A video from the day of the operation, showing the sequence of events on the ground: pic.twitter.com/a1bAS9Q2nr

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 2, 2025

The operation marked the first known ground operation by Israel inside of Syria in years.

The raid happened in the western part of Syria, near the border of Lebanon, while the IAF conducted an intense bombing campaign to stop the Syrian military from being able to send reinforcements to respond to Israel’s operation at the factory.

Israel notified the U.S. of the raid in advance and received no opposition to launching the operation.

The Syrian guards who were protecting the terrorist manufacturing facility were caught off guard by the raid and were killed in the Israeli commandos’ surprise attack.

U.S. and Israeli sources confirmed to Axios that Iran started building the underground facility in 2018 in coordination with Hezbollah and the Syrians after Israel “destroyed most of the Iranian missile production infrastructure” inside the country.

Israeli intelligence services reportedly monitored the site, built inside of a mountain, for five years. Israel previously considered launching an operation to destroy the site, but deemed the project too “high-risk.”

The raid could foreshadow how Israel might deal with Iran’s nuclear facilities as the country gets closer to obtaining nuclear weapons, partly due to a lack of deterrence from the Biden administration, some experts say.