1st Iranian attack on Israel 300 drones 40 missiles, zero casualties Tony Gosling Patrick Henningsen

How and why is Israel trying to downplay havoc wreaked by Iranian missilesShow more

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/04/17/723856/how-why-israel-downplaying-havoc-wreaked-iranian-missiles

What does the available evidence suggest?

The Iranian military operation, which came two weeks after the consulate attack, was not shrouded in secrecy. It was announced days before by political and military officials, and the United States was reportedly also informed about the day of the attack through diplomatic channels, 72 hours earlier.

Besides, all leading Iranian media outlets, including Press TV, reported that Iran launched a barrage of drones at the occupied territories hours before they reached their intended target.

Iranian military sources at first did not announce the precise types and quantity of weapons launched, mostly stating that they were "dozens" of drones and missiles.

One local news agency published information about 500 drones launched during the attack, although not referring to domestic military sources but to a foreign news network.

This claim was pleasurable at the time and served the purpose of causing panic as it sent millions of Israeli settlers and regime officials into underground shelters and safe houses.

Later, the IRGC released three pieces of footage showing the launch of at least 20 ballistic missiles, 20 cruise missiles and a dozen drones.

Private footage recorded in Iraq showed only a single drone and a cruise missile, so there was no independent visual evidence of initially reported huge ballistic volleys or drone swarms.

Despite Israeli attempts at censorship, leaked footage from the occupied territories showed numerous powerful explosions of heavy warheads, apparently caused by Iranian quasi-ballistic or hypersonic missiles.

Only in the case of one air base in the Negev, either Nevatim or Ramon, at least four films from different angles showed that at least five Iranian missiles smashed the intended target within 11 seconds.

Satellite images of two large air bases established that the missiles were not fired randomly, but buildings and infrastructure were hit with pinpoint accuracy.

An informed source told Press TV that the occupied territories were targeted with hypersonic missiles and that none was intercepted, without specifying whether it was the newly unveiled Fattah missile.

Other Iranian media outlets reported that the weapon in question was actually the Kheibar Shekan, a maneuverable missile that has a hypersonic final stage.

Major General Mohammad Baqeri, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, said Iran hit a large Israeli intelligence base and Nevatim Airbase in the occupied lands, adding that the strikes "reached its goals" as the regime's air defense failed to engage it properly.

What makes claim of Israeli regime and media ludicrous?

Israel's claims of extremely successful interception of drones and missiles are debunked by verified numbers, contradictory official reports, attempts of censorship, falsification of evidence, various other manipulations, and the regime's furious reactions.

First of all, the claims of 300-350 enemy targets and 99 percent downing, including all drones and cruise missiles, imply that three ballistic missiles hit the intended targets, which is untrue as at least nine such successful hits have been verified.

The true extent of the damage cannot be determined because the Israeli regime has made enormous efforts to censor private footage and photos, openly threatening settlers not to post them online.

Although they initially claimed that not a single hostile drone or cruise missile had reached the occupied territories, later the regime's media in Hebrew acknowledged the damage caused by drones in the vicinity of the Hermon Base.

There were also serious reports from neighboring countries that the sites on the Golan Heights were severely hit, presumably by low-flying drones and cruise missiles, since there were no ballistic traces in the sky.

The very purpose of the drones was not to cause significant damage, but to arrive at the target in coordination with salvos of cruise and ballistic missiles and then, together with hostile interceptor jets and missiles, overload the enemy radars.

There is nothing to support the Israeli figures of "hundreds" of enemy targets, as there are no Iranian statements or independent confirmations, only Iranian footage of 50 different launches and Israeli footage of a handful being shot down.

Israeli long-range anti-ballistic systems such as Arrow and David's Sling operate at a range of tens or hundreds of kilometers and very high altitudes. In other words, above Jordan, Syria and Iraq.

If Israel's claims of 120 ballistic missiles and 99 percent interceptions were true, there should have been more than a hundred widely visible intercept explosion traces over the skies of those three countries, but not a single one was recorded....