IDF confirms airbase was damaged during Iranian missile attack this week
Warehouse at Ramat David Airbase apparently hit by falling fragments, not a direct impact, probe finds; military says none injured, no harm to facility’s functioning
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israeli military on Wednesday confirmed that damage was caused to the Israeli Air Force’s Ramat David Airbase during Iran’s ballistic missile fire on Israel earlier in the week.
On Tuesday, low-resolution images dated June 8 from the European Commission’s Sentinel-2 satellite, processed by the Copernicus Browser site, showed a discolored patch where a warehouse is located at the northern Israel airbase, possibly indicating that it was hit during the attacks.
The IAF, as of Wednesday, was still investigating what struck the warehouse, although preliminary findings pointed to falling fragments following the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile, rather than a direct impact.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, no equipment was damaged, no injuries were caused, and there was no harm to the operational functioning of the airbase following the impact, which a security source described as “minor.”
Iran launched 24 ballistic missiles at Israel on Sunday night and Monday morning, with many of them aimed at northern Israel. In addition, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at Israel on Monday morning.
According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian forces launched at least one ballistic missile at the northern airbase during its Sunday night barrage.
Satellite imagery from June 8 shows a possible strike at Ramat David Airbase.
Explore and Compare: https://t.co/4foamTEXty
Although the imagery is low-res, a white patch where the hangar previously stood is visible. Thanks @tom_bike for the find.#MiddleEast #Israel #IranWar https://t.co/NtOlkFdU7E pic.twitter.com/JJmGcv4x8E
— Soar (@SoarAtlas) June 9, 2026
The airbase, located some 15 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Haifa, is believed to house three F-16 fighter jet squadrons and a secretive drone squadron.
In the past, the IDF has acknowledged that some of its military bases were hit by Iranian missiles, saying that the facilities remained fully functional.
Israel’s military censor generally bars the publication of the exact locations of missile impacts, particularly those that hit sensitive sites, over fears that doing so will aid Israel’s enemies in refining their targeting.
The exchange of strikes Sunday night and Monday morning was the first between Iran and Israel since April 8, when US President Donald Trump announced a halt in the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran launched February 28. Trump has since doggedly pursued a deal to end the war, seeking the reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz, a global economic chokepoint, to commercial maritime traffic, but also demanding a halt to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Iran has insisted that any deal include an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group, which is backed by Tehran. It said Sunday’s missile strikes were retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs, itself a reaction to rocket fire on Israel’s north, and vowed to expand retaliation if the attacks persisted.
While Israel retaliated to Iran’s missile attacks in apparent defiance of Trump’s directive, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off a more significant attack at the request of the US president, instead opting to announce that Israel would halt attacks on Iran “for now” and warning that it would strike Iran and Hezbollah if it was attacked again.
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