Iran’s Missile Attacks Wane, Allowing Israel to Start Reopening
Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israel appear to be subsiding, prompting Israeli authorities to relax some safety restrictions.
The reason for the drop-off isn’t immediately clear. The Israeli army said a few days ago it had destroyed around a third — or 120 — of Iran’s missile launchers and targeted manufacturing sites to prevent future attacks.
Iran still possesses thousands of ballistic missiles that can reach Israel, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said on Monday. Still, it may be trying to conserve its stockpile.
Iran has fired 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel since Friday, killing 24 people and injuring more than 800, according to the Israeli government. There haven’t been any fatalities reported since Monday morning.
The heaviest bombardments came on Friday and over the weekend, when some 300 missiles were launched at the country. While most were intercepted, some slipped through Israel’s air defenses, leaving city blocks in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in ruin and displacing nearly 4,000 people.
The barrages this week, while still frequent, were fewer. On Wednesday morning, an Israeli military spokesperson said 30 missiles were fired in several waves overnight, causing no casualties.
Israel’s Home Front Command said it would relax guidelines for civilians in most areas of the country from 6 p.m. local time, following days of near-total shutdown. Schools and beaches remain closed under the new rules, but gatherings of as many as 30 people are permitted if a shelter is available nearby, according to a statement from the military. Workplaces with shelter access were also given the go ahead to resume activity, signaling a gradual reopening of the economy.
The decision is a “message of victory” over Iran, Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Israel, while fighting Iran, “will open the economy.”
Israel, meanwhile, has continued strikes on Iran as speculation mounts that the US may join the military campaign. More than 200 people have been killed in Iran by the Israeli strikes, according to the last official tally from the Iranian government, which hasn’t been updated for over a day.
Source : Bloomberg
