Why did one missile set off so many sirens in central Israel? Here's the explanation

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A single launch of a surface-to-surface missile Wednesday morning from Lebanon triggered alarms across central Israel – the entire Sharon area and throughout the Gush Dan region.

Former head of the Air Defense Command IDF Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Ilan Bitton explained why: "As a result of uncertainty and the risk of interception debris, it is possible that a warning will be heard in a more distant area."

Bitton explained that along the missile's flight path, the interception systems define a "zone of uncertainty," within which the missile is expected to fall: "Therefore, there are areas along the flight path where a warning will be heard in a more distant area, and the interception occurs earlier."

The defense systems operate in layers and at different ranges. The short-range system is Iron Dome, above it is David's Sling, and above them are Arrow 2 and 3: "The first system to initiate interception is the one that detects the missile first, but additional systems can join in. These systems are designed to create multiple interception opportunities."

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"A surface-to-surface missile, when following a ballistic trajectory, usually climbs to a quarter of its maximum altitude. When it begins to descend, there are several interception opportunities," Bitton explained.

"The system is not hermetic; this is not just a slogan. Here, it should be assessed that the rate of rockets getting through will be higher, and therefore proper behavior is crucial."

The Home Front Command announced that the missile launched from Lebanon fell deep in the sea off the coast of Herzliya and Tel Aviv, and the expansion of the warning range (polygon) is what triggered the alarms throughout the Sharon area and across the Gush Dan region. According to the statement, there is no change in the Home Front Command's instructions.

This morning, alerts were activated in central Israel following the launch of a surface-to-surface missile fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon. The missile was launched from the Nafakhiye area, near the city of Tyre.

The IDF attacked the source of the launcher from which the missile and stated that the weapon depots that were targeted included, among other things, cruise missiles and precision launchers, and that after the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating additional weapons at the site."