Timeline of the Axis of Resistance War on Israel and the U.S. since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023

*Note that the emphasis of this article is on actions primarily outside of the Gaza area.

 

What is the Axis of Resistance?

The “Axis of Resistance” is a term used by Iran and her proxies for their alliance of anti-Israel and anti-U.S. forces in the Middle East. Iran is the dominant member of this Axis of Resistance, which is made up primarily of Shiite and Shiite-adjacent forces. This Axis also includes Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthi in Yemen, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, and others.

Timeline of Attacks on Israel and the United States by the Axis of Resistance

Oct. 7, 2023-Hamas attacks Israel, killing at least 1200 people, mostly civilians. About 200 hostages are taken back to Gaza.

 

Oct. 8, 2023-Israel formally declares war against Hamas

Oct. 8–U.S. announces US Naval forces will be sent to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel.

 

Oct. 8, 2023-Hezbollah begins small-scale cross-border attacks with rocket and artillery strikes at Israeli-held Shebaa Farms.

 

Oct. 12, 2023-Houthi in Yemen declare they will join war if America intervenes.

 

Oct. 12, 2023-Israeli air strikes damage runways in Syria at two major airports (Damascus and Aleppo).

 

Oct. 14, 2023-Israeli air strikes damage runways in Syria at Aleppo airport.

 

Oct. 18, 2023-U.S. troops at al-Tanf base in Syria targeted by drones launched by Iran-allied Shiite militia. One drone was shot down, the other hit the base, causing minor injuries.

 

Another drone targeted the U.S. base at al-Asad in western Iraq. The drone was shot down. 

 

Rockets hit the Baghdad airport, where U.S. and coalition forces are based.

 

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

 

Oct. 19, 2023–USS Carney, in the northern Red Sea, shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. The attack  appeared headed toward Israel. 

 

Oct. 24, 2023–The Pentagon announced that since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, U.S. forces in the Middle East had been attacked 14 times.  U.S. troops in Iraq were attacked 11 times, and troops in Syria 3 times. A total of 24 American troops were injured in these attacks.  One civilian contractor died of a heart attack.

 

Oct. 26, 2023–The U.S. struck two targets in Syria in retaliation.  Two Air Force F-16s, accompanied by MQ-9 drones, dropped more than 30 precision-guided bombs on a weapons storage facility and an ammunition storage facility near Abu Kamal, Syria. These targets were described as being used by the Shiite militias and the IRGC.

 

Oct. 27, 2023–Shiite militias responded to the American airstrikes by launching drone attacks on U.S. forces in western Iraq. The drones were shot down, with no U.S. casualties.

 

Oct. 29, 2023–Hezbollah fires 16 rockets into Israel, prompting Israeli response.

 

Oct. 31, 2023–Houthi forces in Yemen said they have joined as the “third front” in the Israel-Hamas Gaza War by firing three times at Israel since the war’s start. Houthi says they fired a “large number” of ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 31.  Israel says they used the “Arrow” aerial defense system to intercept the missiles.

 

Nov. 1–The Houthi militia claimed to have launched a “large batch” of drones targeting locations in Israel on Wednesday. The Iran-backed Houthis had already claimed to have attempted three other attacks on Israel since the war began on Oct. 7.

 

Nov. 16–The Pentagon reported that American casualties in the attacks in Iraq and Syria totaled 56 wounded, with one fatality (an American civilian contractor) from the attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas War.

 

Nov.8–Houthi forces shot down an American Reaper drone in international airspace near Yemen.

 

Nov. 8–The U.S. carried out attacks against the IRGC and IRGC-linked targets in Deir ez-Zor in response to continued militia attacks on U.S. forces. Casualties reported from the airstrikes: 9.

 

Nov. 8–The United States officially reported that Iranian-affiliated militias carried out more than 40 successful drone and rocket strikes targeting US military bases in Iraq and Syria since the start of the Israel-Hamas War.

 

Nov. 12–U.S. airstrikes targeted IRGC affiliated groups in response to continued airstrikes against U.S. forces in the region. The attacks hit a safe house and training area used by militias in Mayadin and Abu Kamal in Syria, resulting in the death of 8 militia fighters.

 

Nov. 15–The USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, shot down a drone from Yemen in the Red Sea. The Pentagon reports that the drone came from Houthi territory in Yemen, and that it appeared to target the American warship. No American casualties from this attack reported.

 

Nov. 16–The Pentagon reported that American casualties in the attacks in Iraq and Syria totaled 58 wounded, with one fatality (an American civilian contractor) from the attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas War. 27 of the attacks targeted American troops  in Iraq, while the other 31 wounded were in Syria.

 

*It should be noted that while large-scale fighting (Gaza level) has not broken out along the Israel-Lebanon border, there have been daily attacks and counter attacks between Hezbollah and Hamas (and their allies) against Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas War. This is the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict to have occurred since the 2006 Lebanon War.

 

*This timeline will be updated as events unfold.