Army Radio reporter Doron Kadosh published details of a preliminary army investigation concerning a rocket that landed in the central area this morning. Let’s try to summarize the preliminary findings based on his report:
1. It is a ballistic missile that was launched from Yemen and exploded in an open area near Modiin. The missile thus traveled about 2000 kilometers. The flight time required for a ballistic missile of this type to cover such a distance is about 15 minutes. This is more than enough time to identify a flying target and successfully engage it.
2. The missile may have been identified by the detection systems, but alas, too late to successfully destroy a heavy ballistic missile. Several anti-missiles were eventually fired at it — the Hetz (Arrow) and the Kipat a-barzel (Iron Dome). The latter were probably launched to prevent large fragments from falling on residential areas.
3. The Air Force investigation focused on why the missile was not shot down after all. Since the beginning of the war, the Hetz system has successfully carried out dozens of intercepts. It had a nearly 100 percent success rate in the April 14 Iranian attack, as well as several other ballistic missiles also launched by the Houthis from Yemen. It is possible that the Hez missile still intercepted, but „partially“ — that is, it hit the missile but failed to destroy it completely.
4. After our air force attacked the Yemeni port of Hudaydah on July 20, the Houthi leaders repeatedly threatened to retaliate. Just the day before, the Houthi „defense minister“ again made threats. Of course, the Houthis, as well as Hizbullah, are not an independent force, they are puppets of the Iranian regime and the current launch was obviously initiated by the Iranians, who are exploring weaknesses in our echeloned missile defense system.
5. Note that this is not the first time that a missile launched by the Houthis has managed to breach the Israeli missile defense system. In April, a cruise missile from Yemen exploded north of Eilat; in July, a Houthi drone exploded in Tel Aviv, killing a civilian.
6. There are no changes yet in the Home Front Service’s instructions. Training exercises in the central parts of the country continued as usual. (In the north of the country, where, in essence, normal life has ceased, all previous restrictions remain in force).
7. In our opinion, we are talking about an incredible miracle! Consider this — a heavy ballistic missile launched by the Houthis fell in the central region in the „open countryside“ — about six kilometers from Ben-Gurion International Airport. A fire broke out near the town of Lod, and falling fragments damaged the railroad station in Modiin. And all of this was without casualties, although attempts to intercept the missile, in fact, failed.
Moreover, neither the American troops stationed in the Red Sea nor the other forces now stationed in the region — British, French and Italian — were able to detect it.
To make matters worse, it appears that neither the Israeli fighter jets patrolling the southern regions, whose purpose is to shoot down missiles coming from Yemen, nor the advanced radar system of the „Hetz“ — „Oren Adir“ — detected the missile on its way to Israel.
As a result, it was not intercepted in time outside the atmosphere by the „Hetz-3“ missile defense system — far from Israel’s borders. Nor was it shot down by the „second line of defense“ — the „Hetz-2“ missile defense system — close to the Israeli border.
For reasons unknown to us, the „third line of defense,“ the „Sharvit a-xamim“ (Magic Wand, aka David’s Sling), also capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, was not activated.
None of the above worked. And that tells us even more about the magnitude of this morning’s miracle.
For us, this situation is yet another proof of the greatest divine Providence, a miracle that the Almighty has once again performed for us.
Here, of course, it is appropriate to recall the promise of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, King Moshiach: „The Land of Israel is the safest place in the world.“
G-d, blessed be His Name, has saved us from the colossal potential damage that could have been done.
In short, this morning we witnessed a great miracle and it is our responsibility to realize this and to spread the word about it as widely as possible.
„Give thanks to the Almighty for He is good and His mercy is everlasting“!