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On November 2, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of armed factions backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, announced that it had carried out its first attack against Israel in support of the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the coalition said that it had targeted a “vital” Israeli target on the shores of the Dead Sea in response to recent “massacres” against Palestinian children, women and elderly. No further details on the attacks were provided.
“The Islamic Resistance assures that it will continue to attack enemy’s strongholds,” the statement reads.
The coalition later shared a photo showing a mysterious cruise missile that is thought to be made by Iran and designated as type “351” by the United States military and intelligence. The missile, which the Houthis in Yemen call “Quds”, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers and carries a warhead weighing 450 kg.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Heberew didn’t report any attack or interceptions in the Dead Sea area on November 2 or before.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq formed a special operations room to support Gaza following the October 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital massacre, officially joining the war. Its previous attacks were however limited to United States bases in Iraq and Syria.
On November 1, the coalition attacked al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria with drones, wounding a U.S. soldier. On November 3, it launched another drone attack against al-Harir Air Base in northern Iraq, where U.S. troops are known to be deployed. However, no losses were reported.
With serious support from Iran, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq will be able to engage both U.S. forces and Israel at the same time.
The coalition’s future attacks against Israel will likely be larger, and could possibly involve the use of ballistic missiles. This will force the IDF to allocate more air defense to the Dead Sea region. U.S. air defenses in Jordan could also aid in the defense of Israel.
Israel maintains an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. However, this network is already under much pressure due the repeated rocket attacks from Gaza, the threat of Hezbollah from the north and Houthis recent strikes from the direction of the Red Sea.
