‘At first I thought they were fake’ – IDF presents enormous remains of intercepted Iranian rockets
IDF estimates Iran's ballistic missiles had warheads weighing about 450kg
Soon after the failed drone and missile assault by Iran against Israel early on Sunday morning, images of the blackened remains of intercepted rockets scattered across Israel began circulating on social media.
An especially poignant image showed the hull of an enormous rocket floating on the salty waters of Israel’s Dead Sea. The area immediately to the west of the sea, around the towns of Arad and Dimona, was one of the attack’s main targets.
“When I first saw images on Sunday circulating on social media I thought they were fake. There is nothing fake about this, or the threat it posed,” IDF Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner, who serves as an IDF spokesman in the reserves, wrote on 𝕏.
This is 70% of one of the 120 !!! ballistic missiles #Iran launched at #Israel on Saturday. It was intercepted and this part fell near the Dead Sea. When I first saw images on Sunday circulating on social media I thought they were fake. There is nothing fake about this, or the… pic.twitter.com/BlbI1GOrP4
— Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) April 16, 2024
The IDF presented some remains discovered in Israel of the roughly 120 ballistic missiles fired by Iran, most of which were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in cooperation with several allied nations.
IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari visited the Joulis military base, near the town of Kiryat Malachi, where the missile remains were presented.
“We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Hagari told reporters. “Iran will not get [off] scot-free with this aggression.”
Lerner filmed himself next to one of the rockets and wrote on 𝕏: “This is 70% of one of the 120 ballistic missiles Iran launched at Israel on Saturday. It was intercepted and this part fell near the Dead Sea.”
More than 110 ballistic missiles were launched toward Israel over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/qSWrBg73qR
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) April 16, 2024
According to the IDF, the Iranian Emad missile originally had a warhead of around 450 kg (nearly 900 pounds). The remains – roughly 11 meters (36 ft) in length – were only portions of the fuel tank.
“Over 880 pounds of explosives in just 1 ballistic missile. Around 120 were fired by Iran at Israel. The world must recognize Iran’s attack could’ve ended very differently. It’s thanks to our advanced aerial defense systems and the help of our international partners that the attack was successfully thwarted,” the IDF wrote on its official 𝕏 account.
Over 880 pounds of explosives in just 1 ballistic missile. Around 120 were fired by Iran at Israel.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 16, 2024
The world must recognize Iran’s attack could’ve ended very differently. It’s thanks to our advanced aerial defense systems and the help of our international partners that the… pic.twitter.com/1bqVSc3DYb
The Israeli military said it would study the remains to deepen its understanding of Iranian weapons systems.
“Standing next to it, suddenly the claims that Iran's attack was in any way a token effort or symbolic seem absurd,” noted Dominic Waghorn, a journalist at Sky News who attended the presentation.
“If any one of those ballistic missiles had reached an Israeli population center it would have been devastating.”
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
