Editing Israeli Air Force (section)

===1990s and beyond===

In 1991, the IAF carried out [[Operation Solomon]] which brought [[Beta Israel|Ethiopian Jews]] to Israel. In 1993 and 1996, the IAF participated in [[Operation Accountability]] and [[Operation Grapes of Wrath]], respectively.
[[File:F-15I (remix).jpg|thumb|69 Squadron [[F-15I|F-15I Ra'ams]] at Red Flag 04-3]]
In the late 1990s, the IAF began acquiring the [[F-15E Strike Eagle#F-15I|F-15I]] Ra'am (Thunder) and the [[F-16I]] Sufa (Storm), manufactured specially for Israel according to IAF requirements. The first of 102 F-16I Sufas arrived in April 2004, joining an F-16 fleet that had already been the largest outside the US Air Force. The IAF also purchased the advanced Israeli air-to-air missile [[Rafael Python 5#Python 5|Rafael Python 5]], with full-sphere capability, as well as a special version of the [[AH-64 Apache|Apache Longbow]], designated AH-64DI or [[Saraph]]. In 2005 the Israeli Air Force received modified Gulfstream V jets ("Nachshon"), equipped with advanced intelligence systems made by [[Israel Military Industries]]. By 2013 Israel became the world's largest exporter of [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]]s.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-is-world-s-largest-exporter-of-drones-study-finds.premium-1.524771|title=Israel is world's largest exporter of drones, study finds|newspaper=Haaretz|first=Gili|last=Cohen|date=19 May 2013|access-date=October 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304230631/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-is-world-s-largest-exporter-of-drones-study-finds.premium-1.524771|archive-date=March 4, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2016, Israel received its first pair of [[F-35 Lightning II]] from the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-waited-a-long-time-for-its-f-35-jets-then-it-waited-some-more/2016/12/12/2590ab1c-c089-11e6-a52b-a0a126eaf9f7_story.html?noredirect=on|title=Israel finally receives the first of its $5 billion order of U.S.-made F-35 jets|last=Booth|first=William|date=December 12, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 10, 2018|archive-date=July 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702061421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-waited-a-long-time-for-its-f-35-jets-then-it-waited-some-more/2016/12/12/2590ab1c-c089-11e6-a52b-a0a126eaf9f7_story.html?noredirect=on|url-status=live}}</ref>

Three months after the assassination of the leader of [[Hezbollah]], [[Abbas al-Musawi]], the IAF launched an offensive across [[South Lebanon]] with five air raids in six days. Some of the targets struck were as far north as [[Baalbek]]. On the final day, 26 May 1992, there were more than 40 missile strikes. Over 20 civilians were killed during the attacks.<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 426, 29 May 1992, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; Godfrey Jansen p.8</ref>

The Israeli Air Force took an extensive part in IDF operations during the [[al-Aqsa Intifada]], including the controversial [[targeted killing]]s of Palestinian terrorist leaders, most notably [[Salah Shakhade]], [[Ahmed Yassin]] and [[Abed al-Aziz Rantissi]]. While this policy was criticized due to the [[collateral damage]] caused in certain instances, Israel claims it is vital in its fight against terrorism and that IAF pilots do whatever they can to avoid civilian casualties, including aborting strikes. In 2007, Israel achieved a [[civilian casualty ratio]] of 1:30, or one civilian casualty for every thirty combatant casualties, in [[Israeli targeted killings|its airstrikes on militants in the Palestinian territories]].<ref name=pin>{{cite web |first=Amos |last=Harel |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/pinpoint-attacks-on-gaza-more-precise-1.236163 |title=Pinpoint attacks on Gaza more precise |work=Haaretz |date=December 30, 2007 |access-date=October 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129043129/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/pinpoint-attacks-on-gaza-more-precise-1.236163 |archive-date=January 29, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Alan Dershowitz]] noted that "No army in history has ever had a better ratio of combatants to civilians killed in a comparable setting".<ref name= dersh>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/targeted-killing-is-worki_b_79616.html,|title=Targeted Killing Is Working, So Why Is The Press Not Reporting It?|last=Dershowitz|first=Alan|date=January 3, 2008|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=February 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225258/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/targeted-killing-is-worki_b_79616.html,|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>