Why Hezbollah chose 'Qader-1', a ballistic missile with a 500-kg warhead and a range of 190 km, to Tel Aviv

When the militant group Hezbollah shot a ballistic missile at the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for the first time since the war began, it was aiming to send a message. According to a statement from the group, the missile was sent to retaliate for the pager explosions that shook Lebanon last week.

Though Israel's air defence system intercepted the missile, it did send panic waves across Tel Aviv and Central Israel. "It’s only one missile, so it’s more than likely to be a message from Hezbollah that they still have ballistic missile capability," according to Al Jazeera.

The residents of Netanya, a city in Central Israel, were startled by sirens echoing through the city, which sent them fleeing to shelters. "I woke up in a panic and ran with the kids to the shelter," Michal Nechmani, a resident, told Ynet. "Since the war started, we haven’t had a siren, so we were calm, thinking it wouldn’t reach us. People always joked that Hamas and Hezbollah are afraid of people in Netanya. This morning we realised that’s not the case. There were moments of fear, but we quickly understood there were no casualties, and they were holding school – so we returned to our routine," he added.

Why Qader-1?

Qader-1 had a range of 190 kilometres and a warhead weighing 500 kilograms, the militant group claimed. In a short video boasting about its capabilities, Hezbollah said the group employed a "new hypersonic ballistic missile" in a "specific military operation" targeting the Tel Aviv area, in a statement from the group's military spokesperson. Though the group claims that the missile struck Tel Aviv, Israel claims it was intercepted by Israel’s medium-range Arrow air defence system, and no damage or injuries were caused.

The ballistic missile reportedly carried a 500-kilogram warhead, according to the terror group. "It crossed a distance of 2,040 km in 11 and a half minutes and caused a state of fear and panic among the Zionists, as more than two million Zionists headed to shelters for the first time in the history of the Israeli enemy," the military spokesperson added.

Qader-1 is a tactical short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile equipped with a manoeuvrable reentry vehicle (MaRV), weighing 2,870 kg. These weapons are equipped with guidance systems and other electronics, which sets them apart from unguided rocket artillery like Katyusha and Fadi.

It is also difficult to intercept considering on Wednesday, Israel's Arrow system failed to bring the missile down before entering Israeli airspace. It however intercepted it later. The Iron Dome's Tamir interceptors would be futile in a possible face-off.