Iran’s massive missile strike likely meant to oversaturate Israeli air defenses, but the US and Israel said the attack was largely defeated.
Iran’s strike on Israel on Tuesday with over 180 ballistic missiles was a massive attack, what appears to be the largest single ballistic missile barrage in history.
The attack was largely ineffective, US and Israeli officials said, but conflict experts say it wasn’t just for show. Iran’s intention appeared to be to cause significant damage by overwhelming Israeli and partner air defenses.
War analysts with the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington DC-based think tank that closely tracks conflicts, reported on Tuesday that “Iran likely intended to inflict significant damage on Israel by oversaturating Israeli air defenses, particularly in central Israel.”
The missile attack, which came in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last Friday and the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in July, appeared to be focused on several military and government targets in the country, some of which were located near or in densely populated central Israel.
