During this past night, an unprecedented and historical event took place – a direct Iranian attack on Israeli soil. This attack is the “response” promised by the Islamic regime in retaliation for the assassination of Hassan Mahadawi, a senior IRGC official, at the Iranian consulate in Damascus, in an air strike attributed to Israel nearly two weeks ago.
The Iranian attack on Israel was combined and included hundreds of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) launched from Iran, Iraq and Yemen on Israeli targets – along with a large number of cruise missiles and even surface-to-surface missiles. Each of these vessels contained several dozen kilograms of explosives and had the potential to create significant damage on Israeli soil. But each of these measures has a different speed of progress – when drones can take between 5-9 hours to cross the hundreds of kilometers separating the two countries, giving Israel sufficient warning time.
Already last night, the Home Front Command announced the cancellation of educational institutions throughout the country, and a ban on gatherings of more than a thousand people; when it became clear that the Iranian attack was imminent, the War Cabinet convened in the Kirya (Tel-Aviv) to manage the situation, preparing Israel’s multi-dimensional defence systems for action – from the Iron Dome and ‘David’s Sling’, to Arrow missile and fighter jets. In addition, Israel’s allies – including the United States, Britain, and France – all launched planes to assist in the interception mission; and defence systems deployed in neighbouring countries, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia (according to foreign reports), were on full alert.
The Iranian attack reached Israel around 1:30 A.M., when a significant portion of the drones were intercepted over neighbouring countries. At this stage, the defence systems came into action, and with impressive execution, almost all Iranian missiles were intercepted (with the interception operations leading to alarms in many places in Israel, such as Jerusalem, for fear of shrapnel). 3 Israeli civilians were wounded by shrapnel in various areas, and one drone managed to cause minor damage to the building at Nevatim base in the Negev – but not enough to limit its capabilities.
This test was the first of its kind for the IDF, which met it with impressive success, with the support of Israel’s allies. The big question is, of course, what Israel’s response will be – for it is clear that such a serious action cannot be followed by silance (even though some of our allies are implying it), otherwise Israel’s deterrence capability will be harmed. The Defence Minister and the Prime Minister have already made it clear over the past week that direct Iranian action against Israel will result in a ‘measure against measure’ response – so there is still much to be expected. The Iranian-Israeli conflict did not begin yesterday, and of course – it did not end.
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