Iran Fires Nearly 200 Ballistic Missiles at Israel

Virtually the entire nation of 10 million people took to their bomb shelters and safe rooms for about an hour on the evening of Oct. 1 after Iran launched the barrage, which Israel’s leadership said was 181 missiles. They stayed there until the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an all-clear.

Two U.S. naval destroyers, the USS Cole and the USS Bulkeley, assisted in shooting down Iran’s missiles headed into Israel, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at the Department of Defense. They launched about a dozen interceptors, he said.

Iran’s barrage came after Israel’s string of attacks directed at Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon. Two weeks ago, thousands of pagers and handheld radios belonging to Hezbollah leaders and officers exploded, killing some and wounding or maiming hundreds.

On Sept. 27, Israel’s air force took out Hassan Nasrallah, the terror group’s leader for more than 30 years, with an air attack as he met with other top Hezbollah officers in an underground bunker in Hezbollah’s stronghold in suburban Beirut, Lebanon.

Other air attacks targeted Hezbollah commanders. Yet more took out a large amount, as much as half, of Hezbollah’s formidable and Iranian-provided missile stores. On Sept. 30, Israel began a ground operation on its northern border against Hezbollah…