New York Times: Can Israel’s defense systems withstand Iranian missiles?

The New York Times reported that Israel is launching more interceptor missiles against Iranian drones and missiles than it can produce.

Citing sources, the New York Times reported that this has raised questions within the Israeli security establishment about whether its air defense missiles will run out as the war continues, before Iran uses its ballistic missile arsenal.

The Israeli military has already been forced to rationalize the use of interceptor missiles and prioritize the defense of densely populated areas and strategic infrastructure, according to eight current and former officials.

In a report to its correspondents in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, it stated that two factors will help determine the duration of the Israeli-Iranian war: Israel’s reserve of interceptor missiles and Iran’s stockpile of long-range missiles.

Brigadier General Ran Kochav, who commanded Israel’s air defense system until 2021 and continues to serve in the military reserves, was quoted as saying that interceptor missiles aren’t “grains of rice,” and their number is limited, making maintaining Israel’s interceptor missiles a real challenge.

Israeli rescue crews evacuate a number of people injured in Beersheba in the occupied Negev, as a result of an Iranian missile strike.

At the outbreak of the war, some Israeli officials estimated that Iran possessed approximately 2,000 ballistic missiles.

Israeli officials quoted by the New York Times say that Iran has exhausted between a third and half of these missiles, either by firing them toward Israel or because Israel struck the bunkers where they were stored.

Iran has begun to significantly reduce its missile launches, perhaps realizing that its depleting its stockpile, according to the New York Times, which also reported that the Iranian mission to the United Nations didn’t respond to its request for comment on the matter.

It’s not just Iran, Israel itself is also exhausting its interceptor missiles.

According to the Israeli military, Iran had fired a total of 400 missiles by Wednesday morning, approximately 40 of which evaded air defense systems and struck Israeli neighborhoods.

The remaining 360 missiles were either intercepted by Israeli missiles or were observed falling in open areas or at sea, as the Israeli military claims.

According to New York Times correspondents, no Israeli official will disclose the number of interceptor missiles remaining at Israel’s disposal.

Revealing such a closely guarded secret could give Iran a military advantage and would also impact Tel Aviv’s ability to pursue a protracted war of attrition.

However, the New York Times believes that part of the nature of the war lies in whether US President Donald Trump will decide to join Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear enrichment site at the Fordo facility in northern Iran, or whether Tehran will abandon its enrichment program to avoid such interference.

However, the New York Times believes that the end of the war will also be determined by the ability of both sides to bear the damage inflicted on their economies, as well as the impact on the morale of their peoples due to the increasing number of civilian casualties.

The New York Times went on to say that some Israelis feel that the time has come to end the war before Israel’s defenses are severely tested.

At least 24 Israelis have been killed in Iranian airstrikes so far, and more than 800 have been wounded, numbers the New York Times describes as already high by Israeli standards.

The death toll could rise sharply if the Israeli military is forced to limit the use of interceptor missiles in order to provide long-term protection for certain strategic sites, such as the Dimona nuclear reactor in the south of the country or the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.