Saturday’s attack on Israel by Iran is an extreme escalation in the decades-long shadow war between the two countries, one that entered a new phase with the horrific events of Oct. 7 and the terrorist attacks by Hamas. The Iranians undertook this action in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, which killed several high-ranking officials in April. As quoted by the Financial Times, a United States military official described Iran's attack on Israel as "the largest-ever single barrage of ballistic missiles and attack drones launched against a country."
Almost all the missiles and drones were destroyed by the Israeli military and its allies. It is now being reported that a large number of Iran’s ballistic and cruise missiles failed to launch or crashed before reaching Israel. The few missiles that did reach Israel caused minimal damage and no deaths. Unfortunately, a seven-year-old girl was severely injured by shrapnel near the Nevatim Airbase in Southern Israel.
