As the American military planned the strikes, the White House and the Pentagon weighed several different Syrian installations and bases that might be targeted.

When it came time to attack, most of the operation was executed and overseen by the American naval base in Bahrain, where the Fifth Fleet is based, and the air command center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. There, dozens of American and allied planners huddled in front of banks of computers, maps and giant video screens to manage the flow of aircraft and missiles participating from the United States, Britain and France.

The number of warplanes involved also created some diplomatic sensitivity with other countries in the Middle East.

One senior American officer involved in the strike planning said Saudi Arabia and Jordan were put in the delicate position of allowing American-led fighters and bombers to use sovereign air space — so long as it was not publicly advertised.

With those countries’ permission, the United States flew B-1 bombers from Qatar along with one electronic warfare jet and refueling aircraft, Pentagon officials said. The bombers likely launched cruise missiles from Jordanian territory. The missiles, carrying 1,000-pound warheads, are capable of hitting narrow targets from hundreds of miles away; officials later said they were not aware of any civilian casualties caused by the missiles.

A variety of cruise missiles were used in the strikes to distance allied ships, aircraft and one American submarine from a potential counterattack. Though some of the fighter jets may have been within range of some of the enemy’s more advanced surface-to-air missiles — upgraded in the past three years by the Russian military — their pilots, if shot down, would have been able to parachute into largely friendly territory or waters heavily patrolled by friendly vessels.

The military intelligence report indicated that the Barzeh research and development center in Damascus was destroyed, according to the analyst. Most of the missiles were aimed at the Barzeh facility, where the Western allies believed the Assad government was rebuilding its chemical weapons program. It has been closely monitored since the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found precursors for nerve agents there in 2014.