IDF strikes 50 Iranian ballistic missile sites during Passover

The Israel Defense Forces struck more than 50 ballistic missile sites across Iran during the Passover holiday as part of its ongoing “Operation Roaring Lion,” the military said on Thursday night.

The IDF said Israeli aircraft struck dozens of launch and storage facilities over the past 24 hours, deploying more than 140 munitions in central and western Tehran. An Israeli F-35I fighter jet reportedly destroyed a missile launcher after identifying a launch attempt.

Separately, the IDF said it eliminated Makram Atimi, commander of Iran’s ballistic missile unit in the Kermanshah region, in a precision airstrike. Several other battalion commanders involved in missile launches against Israel were also killed, according to the military.

The IDF said the strikes aim to degrade the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile and aerial defense array and curb Iranian fire toward Israeli territory.

Between Monday and Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force dropped some 650 munitions on about 400 targets linked to the Iranian regime, including sites in the heart of Tehran, the military said.

The IDF further degraded the regime’s capabilities, striking approximately 15 weapons manufacturing sites, including a central complex of the Iranian Ministry of Defense that housed a production and development facility intended for missiles to be launched at aircraft.

In parallel, the IDF struck air defense systems, launch sites, and facilities for the production and storage of ballistic missiles.

On Wednesday, the IAF hit a base belonging to the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IAF also hit the IRGC’s central headquarters in Tehran, which was used to manage budgets for security bodies and fund military and terror activities worldwide.

In recent days, the IDF said it identified that the Iranian regime had begun relocating its command centers into mobile units, with commanders operating from within them, and targeted at least one such unit.

Earlier this week, the IAF struck and eliminated Jamshid Eshaqi—the commander of the Oil Headquarters for the Iranian regime’s forces. The Oil Headquarters enabled the continuation of its activities and military buildup through profits from oil sales, the IDF said.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on Thursday that the campaign was making “undeniable progress” following a month of sustained strikes on the Islamic Republic’s military assets.

“We don’t see their navy sailing. We don’t see their aircraft flying, and their air and missile defense systems have largely been destroyed,” he said.