Israel Fends Off Massive Iranian Missile Barrage

At 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, the Israeli national alarm system began notifying every phone across the country of an imminent Iranian attack. Israel Home Front Command recommended everyone to remain at home, near their bomb shelters, or try to find cover as quick as possible. By 7 o’clock, the attack was underway as a massive barrage of ballistic missiles from Iran approached Israeli airspace, setting off 1,864 public alert sirens.

I was driving on the busy Route 4 in the center of the country, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv, when the haunting droll of sirens from all directions forced me to pull over and join others in crouching beside a concrete Jersey barrier on the side of the road. The sky looked like a never-ending meteor shower. Several barrages headed for the sea, either overshooting their target or intended for Israel’s Leviathan offshore natural gas platform. Most barrages were intercepted by Israel’s aerial defense system, casting down bits of incendiary debris. Several missiles, however, passed undetected, and I witnessed two land behind mid-rise buildings half a mile away and heard numerous other impact explosions. 

The IDF reported over 180 ballistic missiles from Iran, while other news outlets reported close to 400 projectiles total, including rockets from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. 

The attack was in retaliation to Israel’s recent military actions in Lebanon. Senior Iranian officials told Reuters that the attack was issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in response to the recent killings of Hassan Nasrallah, General Abbas Nilforoushan, and Ismail Haniyeh. On Sept. 27, the Israel Air Force (IAF) carried out precision strikes on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in southern Beirut, killing Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and over 20 other Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, including Quds Force commander Nilforoushan. Three days later, on Sept. 30, the IDF launched a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon, the first since 2006, in a campaign to clear out Hezbollah infrastructure along the border that persistently threatens northern Israeli communities.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, U.S. intelligence at the Pentagon detected from satellite imagery the movement of missiles near launch sites in northwest Iran. American and Israeli intelligence speculated that an attack would happen soon focusing on Israeli military bases, intelligence centers, and the nuclear reactor in the southern city of Dimona — none of which were affected. The only death reported was a Palestinian man near Jericho who was killed by falling shrapnel, while many injuries were reported from people scrambling to find shelter or rush to the nearest bomb shelter. 

By 9 p.m., the attack was over. During a security cabinet meeting in a bunker near Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack an utter failure and a “big mistake” on the part of Tehran: “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.” Netanyahu gave credit to Israel’s air defense systems, “the most advanced in the world,” for protecting Israeli citizens, thanked the U.S. for its support, and called for the “forces of light in the world” to unite against Tehran and “stand by Israel.” Netanyahu said, “The choice has never been clearer between tyranny and freedom, between blessing and curse.” 

Although deemed a failed operation, the attack presented challenges to Israel air defense. Tuesday night marked the second aerial assault carried out on Israel from Iran. The first attack, in April, was carried out with roughly 300 cruise missiles and drones giving Israeli defense hours of warning and preparation. The April attack was also shot down with significant help from U.S. Navy vessels and U.K. and Jordanian aircraft. 

Tuesday night’s attack covered a much wider area of the country, with heavier barrages over more highly populated centers, including Jerusalem. Debris from downed missiles is still being collected and analyzed. So far, officials have confirmed that Iran used Fattah-1 and Kheybarshekan missiles that can be launched in larger barrages and traverse the distance between Iran and Israel in roughly 12 minutes, posing a much greater challenge to aerial defense and sufficient civilian warning. Israel used all four tiers of its aerial defense on Tuesday night — the Iron Dome for short-range detection, David’s Sling for medium range, and the Arrow for ballistic interception beyond the earth’s atmosphere. 

Tuesday night was not all about the Iranian attack, however. Roughly the same time that missiles soared overhead, two Palestinian terrorists from Hebron carried out a shooting attack at the Tel Aviv light rail station in Jaffa, killing seven and wounding 16. One of the shooters was killed by an armed civilian at the scene and the other wounded. 

According to one eyewitness, the shooters first went to the nearby mosque to tell congregants not to come outside, before proceeding to the rail station. They looked unsuspicious and carried their weapons in the open and posed as IDF reservists, many of whom carry their weapons while in civilian clothing. “They didn’t look like terrorists,” one witness said. “One of them had an M16 rifle, and the other one was in a polo shirt, with a hostage pin,” referring to the yellow ribbon pin worn by many in solidarity with the Hamas hostages. 

Israel’s general response to Iranian and Hezbollah aggression over the year-long course of the war has been retaliatory and reactionary with singular tit-for-tat attacks. The rapid succession of targeted eliminations of top leaders followed by a ground operation in past weeks, however, is evident of Israel’s shift from reactionary to superior and successful preemptive operations. The U.S., and another unnamed country, however, succeeded in persuading Israel not to retaliate on Iran later that Tuesday night. Netanyahu, nonetheless, has vowed not to let Iran’s actions go unpunished.

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