Israel's air force achieved a "remarkable feat," said William Freer, a research fellow for national security at the U.K.-based Council on Geostrategy.

The IDF on Monday published recordings from the operation that retrieved the bodies of hostages Yair Yaakov and Aviv Atzili both from Kibbutz Nir Oz, as operations continued across the Gaza Strip. There are still 53 hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the enclave.

IDF targets weapons convoys, UAV cells, and Iranian fighter jets as part of intensified operations; Tehran airport and key military communications hub struck amid efforts to thwart missile threats.

The ongoing conflict has destabilized the Middle East and raised the stakes of a broader regional conflict drawing in wider geopolitical actors that could include the United States, Israel's main ally and Iran's longtime foe.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that the strikes on Iranian military infrastructure have "delayed Iran's nuclear ambitions by a long, long time."

Maj. Gen. Yadlin, who flew in the 1981 Osirak reactor strike, explains why Israel's current operation against Iran represents a complex, multi-week campaign.

Israel's Air Force and Navy intercepted over 100 drones fired by Iran so far, with no reports of any that fell in Israeli territory, the military added.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and expert on the Iranian ballistic program, said that Israeli success against the Iranian arsenal