Iran fires 181 missiles at Israel
Iran fired a massive salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night, sending almost 10 million people into bomb shelters as projectiles and interceptors exploded in the skies above.
Soon after the attack, which was largely unsuccessful, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran that it had made “a big mistake” and “will pay for it.”
Some 181 missiles were launched in the strike, according to Israeli officials. The Israel Defense Forces said that it intercepted “a large number” of them. One Palestinian in the West Bank was reported killed and two Israelis were injured by falling shrapnel and debris that had caused damage and started fires in the area.
Explosions could be heard across much of Israel, from Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. Reporters on state television lay flat on the ground during live broadcasts
One rocket impacted a school in Gadera, in central Israel, and photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the school building, although nobody was injured. Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, the Home Front Command chief, visited the site of the impact alongside first responders.
Israel’s air defenses were “effective,” the IDF said. The US also participated in the defense of Israel, both by detecting the threat from Iran ahead of time and intercepting some of the missiles, according to the military.
The IDF said there were “isolated” impacts in central Israel and several more impacts in southern Israel. It emphasized that there was no damage to the “competence” of the Israeli Air Force in the attack, and said the IAF’s planes, air defenses, and air traffic control were operating normally.
At a security cabinet meeting in a secure bunker near Jerusalem in the aftermath of the attack, Netanyahu warned that Tehran had made a “big mistake tonight” and vowed that “it will pay for it.”
The strike on Israel had “failed,” he said, and was “thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense system, which is the most advanced in the world.” He thanked the US for its support as well.
“The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies,” said Netanyahu. “[Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and [top Hamas military commander Muhammad] Deif did not understand this, [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah and [Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad] Shukr did not understand this, and there are probably those in Tehran who do not understand this.”
“They will understand,” he threatened, stressing that “whoever attacks us — we will attack him.” He added that this had been the case wherever Israel fights “the axis of evil” — in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iran.
Calling for “the forces of light in the world” to unite against Tehran, the premier urged them to “stand by Israel.”
“The choice has never been clearer between tyranny and freedom, between blessing and curse,” he said.
“Israel is on the move, and the axis of evil is retreating,” Netanyahu insisted. “We will do everything necessary to continue this trend, to achieve all the goals of the war, primarily the return of all our hostages, and to ensure our existence and our future.”
Iran said it fired the missiles into Israel in retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. It referenced Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July
A senior Iranian official told Reuters the order to launch missiles at Israel had been made by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who remains in a secure location.
A previous attack using 300 missiles and drones in April — the first ever direct Iranian on Israel — was thwarted with the help of the US military and other allies. Israel responded at the time with airstrikes in Iran, but wider escalation was averted.## (The TImes of Israel)