Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, hours after Lebanon witnessed the beginning of ground operations by IDF units. Later on Wednesday, Israel confirmed that regular infantry and armoured units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, stepping up the pressure on Hezbollah and Tehran.
Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel. While most were intercepted by the defence mechanisms in place, some landed in central and southern Israel and two people were lightly wounded by shrapnel. An Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel retaliated against Iran's territory.
FULL REPORT | Iran launches missile attack on Israel, IDF urges residents to take shelter in bunkers
But which missiles were launched at Israel by Iran on Tuesday? While Tehran has not confirmed the identity of the projectiles used to target Israel, here is what we know so far.
Iran's arsenal has thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles at its disposal. Even the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)-run Missile Threat Project is unaware of exactly how many missiles of what type and range await deployment at Tehran's orders.
According to CNN, Iran used variants of the Shahab-3 ballistic missile in the latest attack on Israel. Part of Iran's defence plans since 2003, Shahab-3 missiles are capable of carrying warheads weighing 760 to 1,200 kilograms each. Its recent variants -- Emad and Ghadr missiles -- have accuracies of as close to 300 meters of their intended targets, the report added. While Ghadr variants are 15.86 – 16.6 m in length, Emad rockets are 16 – 16.5 m long.
In January 2021, Iran claimed to have hit a naval target in the Indian Ocean over 1,800 km away using an antiship Emad missile variant during its Great Prophet 15 exercises, the official website of Missile Threat said.
All variants of Shahab-3 missiles can be fired from mobile launchers as well as silos.
Meanwhile, local media reports said that the hypersonic missiles Fattah-1 were also involved in the operation against Israel -- a claim that is being doubted by their Western counterparts. Capable of travelling at five times the speed of sound, especially during their towards the target, these missiles become incredibly difficult to shoot down.
