A rocket most likely fired by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 multipronged attack on Israel hit the Sdot Micha military base where, according to experts, many of Israel’s nuclear-capable missiles are located, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The newspaper's investigators used visual analysis of the attack to arrive at the conclusion, together with evidence from publicly available satellite imagery, rocket alarm records, and social media posts.
On Oct. 7, Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel as part of its invasion, during which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.
According to Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, Israel has between 25 and 50 nuclear-capable Jericho missile launchers.
Rockets fired by terrorists in Gaza are generally inaccurate, but it is unlikely that the Sdot Micha base was hit by accident, as virtually the only targets within two miles of the rocket’s impact site are other sensitive military facilities.
The previously unreported attack on Sdot Micha, about 15 miles west of Jerusalem, is the first known instance of Palestinian terrorists managing to hit a site suspected of containing Israeli nuclear weaponry.
Although the missiles themselves were not damaged, The New York Times reported that the rocket's impact led to a fire close to where the nuclear weaponry was stored.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman declined to comment on the report, but recent satellite images show that new earthen berms and barriers have been constructed around military positions close to the rocket's impact site, apparently to defend against shrapnel from any future rocket attacks.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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