The New York Times
Few sites in Israel are better protected than its main nuclear research facility and reactor, eight miles from the town of Dimona in the southern Negev Desert.
So when two Iranian ballistic missiles crashed into residential neighborhoods of Dimona and another nearby city, Arad, on Saturday night, evading the country’s vaunted air defenses, even battle-hardened Israelis seemed rattled by the scenes of destruction.
As alarming, perhaps, as the damage was the military’s admission that it had tried to intercept the missiles, which struck about three hours apart. The failures raised discomfiting questions about Israel’s multilayered missile defense system and its ability to protect its citizens.
And it renewed concerns that the military might be holding back on firing its most costly and sophisticated missiles, after reports that its stockpiles might have been drained in the 12-day war with Iran last year. Those concerns may deepen further in coming weeks if the current campaign against Iran is only “midway,” as Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, said on Saturday.