Israeli media revealed growing concern in Israeli military and political circles following the success of a missile believed to be Yemeni in penetrating the Israeli air defense system. This development raises questions about the effectiveness of Israeli defenses and the capabilities of its opponents.
The missile’s success in penetrating the Israeli air defense system caused panic and anxiety in several Israeli communities. Channel 13 correspondent, Beshai Porat, said that residents of the area found themselves rushing to fortified shelters in the morning, adding that several interceptor missiles were fired at the attacking missile, creating the impression of a missile barrage, when in fact it was only one missile.
Commenting on the incident, Yedioth Ahronoth military affairs analyst Yossi Yehoshua said that the Israeli Air Force is investigating the incident, pointing to two possibilities: the first is that it was a Yemeni missile, and the second is that there was a failure to hit the missile directly.
Yehoshua added that each interceptor missile costs about two million dollars, which raises questions about the exorbitant cost of the interception operation.
New axis
For his part, the former commander of the Israeli air defense system, Major General Ran Kochav, warned that “hypersonic” missiles pose a major challenge to air defense systems, noting that they are manufactured in countries of what he described as the “new axis” that includes Iran, Russia, North Korea and sometimes China.
Kochav considered that the possession of such missiles by the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) represents a worrying development for Israel.
In a related context, Alon Avitar, an analyst on Arab and Palestinian affairs, said that this incident showed Israel in a bad light, unable to intercept a missile of this type. He added that one missile caused a million people to wake up at 6:30 in the morning, wondering what a larger number of missiles could do.
Channel 14 military affairs correspondent Hillel Biton Rosen criticized what he described as the IDF’s “vulgar blackout policy,” noting that some 3 million people woke up in a panic without knowing exactly what had happened.
Hamas is back
Rosen questioned why the military did not issue a preliminary investigation within the first 66 minutes of the incident, stressing the need to inform the public of the details of what happened.
In another development, Channel 12 political correspondent Almog Boker reported that the Israeli army leadership believes that there is no choice but to re-enter the Gaza Strip.
He added that the army has observed the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) renovating its infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip, with the recruitment of more than 3,000 new fighters, prompting the army to prepare for a large-scale operation in the area.
Regarding the possibility of implementing a large-scale military operation in the north, Channel 13 military affairs analyst Alon Ben David said that implementing such a decision would require withdrawing large army forces from the Gaza Strip, noting that the best Israeli army forces are currently operating in the Strip.
In another context, Channel 12 political affairs correspondent Yaron Abraham revealed a difficult and tense conversation that took place between Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and the families of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers.
Abraham quoted one of the fathers as telling the chief of staff that “military pressure is killing the kidnapped,” while Halevi responded that returning the kidnapped becomes more difficult with time, stressing that he informed the political level of the need to strike a deal to return them.
These developments highlight the multiple challenges facing Israel, whether in terms of air defense or with regard to the situation in Gaza and the issue of the kidnapped soldiers, which presents Israeli decision-makers with difficult choices in the coming period.