Israel admits Iranian ballistic missiles struck two military bases
US officials believe that at least nine Iranian ballistic missiles hit Israeli air bases on Sunday, evading air defence, although the damage appeared to be minimal.
Israel, the United States and their allies on Sunday shot down 99 per cent of over 100 drones and dozens cruise and ballistic missiles in an unprecedented show of force.
But at least five ballistic missiles were not intercepted, hitting the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert in the south of Israel, damaging a C-130 cargo plane, an out-of-use runway and empty storage facilities, an unnamed US official told ABC News. Four other missiles appear to have hit another airbase in the Negev, causing significant damage.
Israel praised its state-of-the-art Arrow missile defence system for intercepting the weaponry in the first attack on Israel using ballistic missiles since Saddam Hussein’s barrage on the country in 1991. However the minor damage at Nevatim showed that Israel’s air defence is not 100 per cent airtight.
David Cameron on Monday described the assault on Israel as “an almost total failure” and urged Israel to refrain from retaliating.
“In many ways this has been a double defeat for Iran. The attack was an almost total failure, and they revealed to the world that they are the malign influence in the region prepared to do this,” the Foreign Secretary told Sky News.
“If you’re sitting in Israel this morning, you’re thinking quite rightly, we have every right to respond to this, and they do. But we are urging that they shouldn’t escalate.”
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman on Sunday night said only five Iranian cruise missiles and “a few” ballistic missiles have evaded the air defence.
The unnamed number of missiles caused “minor damage” at Nevatim, said Daniel Hagari. “As you can see, the base is operational and continues to carry out its missions,” he added.
Undated footage released by the IDF on Sunday night showed a large crater in the ground somewhere at the base, and workers laying a fresh layer of asphalt at what appears to be a runway. A fighter jet was seen landing nearby.
Officials in Iran sought to portray the attack as a resounding success, with one of the TV channels even broadcasting the images of what turned out to be a fire in Chile, claiming this was the impact from a missile strike on the Nevatim base.
The Al Manar news agency on Monday cited unnamed officials claiming that as many as 15 Iranian missiles hit Nevatim, “severely damaging” the base and taking it out of operation.
