Tehran said it fired on Israel because it assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, in Beirut
Ballistic missiles like the Fattah-1 used by Iran earlier this month are fired upwards into the Earth’s atmosphere where they change trajectory and descend towards their target
One of their military advantages is their immense speed compared with cruise missiles or drones
Iran’s 1 October 2024 strikes on Israel killed one man in Jericho in the occupied West Bank who was hit by part of a missile that was apparently shot down
Israel has a much vaunted aerial defence system, developed with the US, including Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 exo-atmospheric missiles
These fly at hypersonic speed and can shoot down ballistic missiles in space. The system’s Israeli designers said,
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Arrow "performed as expected" with "wonderful" results against the Iranian strike
The US supported the defensive operation, firing interceptors from two naval destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, alongside support from some European and Arab countries
Washington presented the Iranian strike as
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"defeated and ineffective"
But damage on the ground told a less emphatic picture
Satellite images showed damage at the Israeli Air Force's Nevatim base which houses F-35 fighter planes, including craters on a runway and taxiway
Decker Eveleth from the Washington-based Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) said, the images showed 32 impact points, including multiple hits in the area of F-35 hangers. Mr Eveleth posted on X
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"Some F-35s got really lucky"
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that it was still unclear whether damage was caused directly by missiles or interception shrapnel
There were other direct impacts, including in Tel Aviv - One missile reportedly blew a 30ft (nine metre) deep crater in a densely populated area close to the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency
The Iranian missile strikes followed, 1. Israel’s assassinations of Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh (a negotiator in the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks) 2. Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut 3. Israeli air strikes in densely populated parts of Beirut 4. and its ground invasion of Lebanon
Israel said it has been striking against Hezbollah’s leadership and destroying its vast missile stores due to 11 months of cross-border rocket fire into Israel
Israel argues only military pressure and degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities will ensure 60,000 Israelis can return to their homes in northern Israel
