Israel vows vengeance after ‘defeated and ineffective’ Iranian ballistic missile attack that resulted in only 3 casualties
Israel has vowed vengeance after Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state Tuesday night — dozens of which penetrated air defenses and struck Tel Aviv and other population centers.
Despite this attack having more impact than the earlier strike in April — a Jewish school was among the places badly damaged — there were very few casualties.
Only two Israelis were injured and the only death was a Palestinian man in the West Bank who was cruashed by an intercepted missile fuselatge.
“The attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” President Joe Biden said following the barrage where two American destroyers helped intercept the missiles.
“Make no mistake the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.”
Sirens began flaring shortly after 7:30 p.m. local time, with 10 million residents called to take shelter from the assault that left missiles and shrapnel hitting Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other major cities.
Enis, a man who lives just 20 minutes north of Tel Aviv, told The Post the explosions left his entire apartment building shaking as he and others hid in a shelter.
“The blasts were incredibly loud and intense, shaking the walls and windows,” he said.
“This was the first time I truly felt afraid, and the booms were unlike anything I had experienced before.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack was in direct response to the recent assassinations of Hezbollah founder Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and an Iranian general.
“If the Zionist regime reacts to the operation, it will face heavy attacks,” the IRGC warned.
Colin Clarke, a counter-terrorism expert at the New York-based Soufan Group, said the lack of casualties was calculated by Tehran, which needs to look strong following Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon and its crippling attacks on Hezbollah.
“Iran was caught in a Catch-22, where it needed to respond but make sure it wasn’t big enough that Israel would retaliate,” he told The Post.
How Israel's Iron Dome works
Israel’s Iron Dome is a high-tech missile defense system designed to shoot down incoming rockets and missiles before they can hit populated areas.
- Detection: Radar scans the skies, tracking incoming rockets or missiles.
- Assessment: The system calculates the threat — where the missile will hit.
- Targeting: If the missile is heading for a populated area, Iron Dome locks on.
- Interception: A missile is fired from an Iron Dome launcher, speeding to intercept.
- Neutralization: The interceptor destroys the incoming rocket mid-air, preventing it from reaching its target.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel will respond with its own retaliatory attack — reportedly vowing to target the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities and oil production.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it,” he said.
“Whoever attacks us. We attack them,”
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US stood behind Israel and condemned Iran’s attack, which he called “brazen and unacceptable.”
“What you saw Iran do today was come to the defense of a terrorist organization,” Miller said.
“This event had nothing to do with Iran’s sovereignty.”
“It has to do with the fact that a number of the terrorist organizations that Iran has set up for years as a way to undermine and attack the State of Israel have been weakened first over the past few months and then most recently over the past few weeks,” he added.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest updates on Iran’s attack on Israel
The US has moved several military assets, including fighter jets, to the region, including at least three additional aircraft squadrons set to arrive on Tuesday, according to US Central Command.
The planes include F-15E and F-16 fighter jets, which are capable of intercepting missiles, as well as A-10 attack aircraft.
Dramatic video shows dozens of Iranian missiles being intercepted by Israel’s formidable air defense systems.
However, dozens more broke through and struck Tel-Aviv and other areas.
Israel’s Arrow and David’s Sling anti-missile systems are not designed to intercept such a huge volume of ballistic missiles like the ones seen on Tuesday.
The more famous Iron Dome system is primarily designed to guard against shorter-range rockets fired from Gaza or Lebanon.
The escalation with Iran comes hours after Israel began “localized ground raids” aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s missile launching facilities and weapons cache in southern Lebanon.
The goal of the raids is to ensure Hezbollah no longer has the means to continue its daily missile strikes against northern Israel that have displaced tens of thousands since Oct. 8.
As it faces threats from the north and south, Israel also saw an attack take place from within the country Tuesday.
Just moments before the Iranian missile strike, eight people were fatally shot and seven others wounded in a suspected terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israeli police said.
The deadly ordeal unfolded when two gunmen jumped off a train in the central Israeli city of Jaffa and started firing just after 7 p.m. local time, according to authorities.
