SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The air war in the Middle East is nothing like the region has seen before. Not only are U.S. and Israeli fighter jets bombing Iran, Iranian missiles and drones have attacked a dozen countries in the region. And even the world's most state-of-the-art defense systems have not been able to prevent some Iranian missiles from causing damage and death. NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv explores why.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: First came an air raid siren, then a thud echoing through the city. An Iranian missile weighing more than 200 pounds hit Tel Aviv Tuesday.
This is a very upscale part of Tel Aviv. You see the crater in the middle of the road where the missile hit. Windows smashed, the side of a building torn apart.
MICHAEL MORGAN BESSER: It felt like the bomb fell on our house, literally on our house.
ESTRIN: Michael Morgan Besser (ph) and her neighbors were in shelters when the missile hit a couple blocks away. No one was badly wounded. In Hebrew, they say, we will win - long live Israel.
BESSER: But we're strong.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Hebrew).
BESSER: (Speaking Hebrew). Long live Israel. I know that our - the IDF is doing everything in their power to get them while they're still in the air. But apparently some small percentage they miss, and this is one of the small percentage.
ESTRIN: The Israeli military, the IDF, says air defense systems have intercepted more than 90% of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel. The country is protected by the world's best defense umbrella, U.S. and Israeli missile defense systems for short-, medium- and long-range interceptions. They fire defensive missiles to hit the Iranian ones mid-air. Some of the bigger Iranian missiles travel outside the atmosphere and get intercepted there. But still, during the war, around 40 missiles have evaded these defense systems, killing at least 20 people in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICEMAN: (Speaking Hebrew).
ESTRIN: An Israeli policeman tries to clear crowds from the blast site. Police spokesman Dean Elsdunne describes one of the biggest challenges of Iran's missiles, those that contain submunitions, 20 or 30 smaller bombs each that scatter indiscriminately. Israel first encountered them in the 12-day war with Iran last year.
DEAN ELSDUNNE: We know that the Iranian regime has been using cluster missiles that open up at high altitude and then spread over kilometers. They're not always exploded. And so our bomb squads need to arrive. They need to clear these ordinances. It can still be very dangerous.
ESTRIN: Over a hundred countries have signed an international convention banning cluster munitions. Iran, Israel and the U.S. are among those countries that have not signed on. Tal Inbar, an Israeli missile expert, says even if Israel intercepts a missile, it can miss the warhead or leave the smaller bombs inside it intact. Plus, Israel and the U.S. are rationing their limited stockpile of expensive interceptors, not hitting each and every submunition.
TAL INBAR: For Iran, of course, this is a very good way to overcome a country that can defend itself like Israel. And this is why we are seeing more than 50% of Iranian missiles equipped with cluster munitions warheads.
ESTRIN: Israel says it's taken out most of Iran's missile launchers and much of its ability to manufacture missiles. But with less volume, Iran continues to inflict damage. Former Israeli air defense forces commander Shachar Shohat.
SHACHAR SHOHAT: So what we are facing now, as much as it hurts us, is only the leftover of their inventory and their capability.
ESTRIN: Iran has exaggerated the damage its missiles have made in Israel, and Israeli defense analysts say it's nothing compared to what the U.S. and Israel have done in Iran.
(SOUNDBITE OF BULLDOZER BEEPING)
ESTRIN: At the site of Tuesday's missile attack in Tel Aviv, a bulldozer lifts a crushed car. Crews clean up shattered glass from the sidewalk. Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai stands watch and echoes the philosophy of Israeli authorities. Missiles may fall, but shelters save lives.
RON HULDAI: (Speaking Hebrew).
ESTRIN: "The discipline of the civilian population allows us to get hit and continue with our lives," the mayor told me. "Come here two days later," he said, "and you won't even be able to tell anything happened."
Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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