Israel believes in its country’s defense system – but some missiles manage to penetrate | World News

A woman rushes down a steep embankment holding a baby.

A man reached out his hand to another person whose steps quickened. Sirens began to sound, warning that missiles would be coming in just a matter of minutes.

We had all just pulled over on the side of a busy highway on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

The general rule of going into a bunker doesn’t apply – all we can do is look for a trench.

That’s the way of life in it Israel today, with warnings still sounding throughout the day and night, across the country.

After everything was settled, we realized that the missile had hit the neighborhood several kilometers away from us.

We headed to the built-up area where firefighters were putting out the fire of a burning car. Local residents have escaped injury.

It was quite chaotic when we arrived as soldiers cordoned off the area, warning people to return.

A 21-year-old woman named Keshet tells us about part of an Iranian cluster bomb that landed right near her house.

“There was an explosion,” he said. “We ran outside and saw the fire. It felt like an earthquake – very scary.”

Not much complacency. The war has entered its third week and the public has confidence in Israel’s defense system to intercept missiles.

Some make it through and there is another real danger of debris falling from the sky after an interception.

An Israeli defense missile collided with an incoming missile from Iran or Hezbollah – and the debris could land anywhere.

Kobi Hassonah is angry. He lives next to a storage container that was destroyed in a fire when debris fell from an intercepted missile.

When we spoke to him, the strong smell of smoke was still in the air.

“Wre they [the Iranians] even know what they were aiming at?” he said. “They were just shooting. It landed right next to my house. Of all places.”

But that notion – that no one wants to be unlucky – still largely drives people to seek refuge. A safe space under their house or underground. Not everyone has a safe space in their home.

In an underground parking lot, we met Alex Proskurov, 46, from the town of Rishon LeZion, just south of Tel Aviv.

“We don’t really care about sitting in a bomb shelter for months,” he said defiantly. “As long as we finish this job once and for all.”

His advice: “Don’t be a hero and everything will be fine.”

Iran did not cause large-scale casualties in Israel – unlike the Israeli bombs launched at Iran and Lebanon.

But they managed to engage in psychological warfare.