As ceasefire negotiations continue between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, a pro-Iranian armed group in Iraq supporting Hamas, has launched a missile attack on Israel. On the same day, Israel responded with an airstrike on a pro-Iranian armed group in Syria.
According to Al Arabiya, a Saudi Arabian broadcaster, the Iraq-based pro-Iranian armed group (Iraqi Islamic Resistance) claimed in an online statement on May 2nd (GMT) that it had launched long-range cruise missiles at three locations in Israel. They did not mention specific targets or casualties but claimed to have attacked two locations in Tel Aviv and one location in the southern city of Beersheba.
The Iraqi Islamic Resistance (IRI) emphasized that this attack was carried out “in solidarity with the residents of the Gaza Strip,” while vowing to continue targeting “the enemy’s stronghold”. On the same day, the IRI claimed on Telegram that they had attacked a key target in Beersheba with an Al Arkab cruise missile. They stated that the attack was carried out to “continue supporting resistance against occupation, support our people in the Gaza Strip, and respond to the massacre of Palestinian civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.”
The IRI is an alliance of pro-Iranian armed groups operating across Iraq, receiving support from Iran. The most combat-effective organization within the IRI is known as Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH). This organization is suspected to be behind the attack on a US military unit in Jordan this January, which resulted in the death of three US soldiers. Pro-Iranian groups, including the IRI and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, have continued provocations to support Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Following October 7th of 2023, this has conflicted with Israel, which also receives support from Iran.
The IRI previously carried out drone and missile attacks on US military bases in and around Iraq and Syria; however, these attacks ceased in February 2024. In February, the New York Times reported that Iran met directly with representatives of pro-Iranian organizations at the end of January. Iran persuaded them to stop attacking the US military, as it did not want a confrontation with the US. Iran instructed them not to attack the US military but to continue their provocations against Israel with the same intensity.
On the same day as the IRI’s attack claim, an explosion was observed in Syria. The Syrian Defense Ministry claimed that an Israeli airstrike from the Golan Heights on the west bank of the Jordan River had caused damage near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on the night of May 2nd. In their statement, the ministry reported that one security force building was damaged and eight Syrian soldiers were injured. Israel did not comment on the airstrike. Officials noted that Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian military organizations are stationed near the airstrike target.
