Iran fired its hypersonic Fattah missiles for the first time ever in a bid to retaliate for the numerous assassinations of leaders from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Tehran.
The conflict in the Middle East escalated again on Tuesday as Iran fired approximately 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killings of senior Hamas, Hezbollah, and Revolutionary Guard figures – for which Tehran blames Jerusalem.
The attack was the largest ballistic missile barrage on a state in history.
Major cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were targeted.
Most Iranian missiles were stopped by Israel’s sophisticated Iron Dome defence system, which uses radars to locate incoming rockets before firing a missile to eliminate the threat.
The Iron Dome cost around £160million to build and was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
While Israel says most missiles were stopped and no injuries have been reported, Iran says its attack struck 90 percent of its targets.
Tehran’s forces said it used hypersonic Fattah missiles for the first time ever. They were designed to strike targets at a range of 1,400 kilometres and breach missile defence systems like the Iron Dome.
Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed that some missiles did get through, hitting targets in central and southern Israel.
In the city of Gadera, a school was badly damaged.
Military expert Michael Shoebridge, director and founder of Strategic Analysis Australia, explained how some of the missiles could have breached the Iron Dome.
He told ABC: “For ballistic missiles that go out of the atmosphere, travel along and then re-enter the atmosphere down to their target. It looks like if Iran launched about 180 missiles, mainly a mix of ballistic missiles, then that layered system has been very effective.”
Western allies also helped Israel to take out many of the Iranian missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that his country will respond after the record-breaking Iranian attack. He said: “Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it. The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies … They will understand.”
The Iranian attack also came after Israel launched a ground incursion into Lebanon on Monday amid its ongoing conflict with Hezbollah.
Israel ordered people in 30 villages in Southern Lebanon to evacuate. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, called the incursion and evacuation “one of the most dangerous stages in [Lebanon’s] history.”
This also came after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during an airstrike on Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, on Saturday.