In Israel, 24 hours after a missile launched by the Houthis left 30 injured near Tel Aviv, the Jewish state opened an investigation and promised a strong response. This is the second missile attack from Yemen in three days to hit Israel and the Israeli press is wondering about air defense failures.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Jerusalem, Pierre Olivier
A missile from the Houthi rebels Yemen struck Tel Aviv on the night of Friday to Saturday, causing thirty minor injuries, before the Israeli army intercepted a drone entering Israeli airspace from the east. This is the second successful attack in three days and the press begins to question the solidity of the Iron Dome, the anti-aircraft defense system ofIsrael.
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Several elements explain the failure to intercept the missile, according to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. First, a technical failure of the anti-aircraft system: none of the three layers which make up this “protective dome” above Israel seems to have worked.
Then, according to several experts, the missile would have been launched on a flat ballistic trajectory, making it particularly difficult to spot by defense systems. Finally, the trajectory of the missile would have evolved along the way. L’Iranwhich supplied the Houthis, has maneuverable warhead heads, which allow the direction of the explosive charge to be changed at the last moment.
Coupled with the missile’s speed of approximately 5,000 km/h, interception was made almost impossible. The local press warns that this breach in the anti-aircraft system must be plugged as quickly as possible and is already imagining the worst-case scenario: if this missile had been equipped with a nuclear warhead.
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