The Israel-Iran conflict has entered its sixth day. While Israel targeted Iran's military and nuclear installations and killed multiple high-ranking officials, Tehran's retaliatory missiles hit some of the most sensitive sites in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. For many international and domestic observers, it came as a shock when Israel's Iron Dome, the much-acclaimed air defence system, failed to deliver a 100 per cent interception rate.
On Friday night, Israeli air defences failed to intercept a barrage of Iranian missiles that narrowly missed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) main headquarters and instead slammed central Tel Aviv.
On Sunday, another missile struck and disabled a key oil refinery near Haifa. By Tuesday morning, videos, verified by The Washington Post, showed four more Iranian missiles landing near Israel's intelligence headquarters, north of Tel Aviv. One even impacted inside Camp Moshe Dayan, reportedly housing Israel's elite signals intelligence unit, Unit 8200.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it killed Israeli intelligence and military officials in the strikes, though those claims remain unverified.
Despite the hits, Israeli authorities maintain their defences are holding strong, saying that out of roughly 400 Iranian missiles launched, only 35 made an impact, showing a reported 90 per cent interception rate.
Fourteen civilians have died in Israel since they began the war on June 13. In Iran, the toll is higher with at least 224 people killed by Israeli strikes. Israeli drones and missiles have targeted high-ranking Iranian officials and nuclear scientists in residential buildings.
The conflict escalated further on Monday when Israel bombed the headquarters of Iran's state broadcaster. Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that "the mouthpiece of Iranian propaganda" would "disappear." The IDF later said it targeted a military "communication centre," though it offered no evidence of a military presence at the location.
Can Israel Keep Up The Offensive?
Analysts suggest that while Israel continues to pursue an aggressive military strategy, it is beginning to show signs of strain. With vital infrastructure hit, cities under daily missile alert, and the economy feeling the pinch, the pressure is mounting. Military resources are stretched, and the longer the conflict drags, the higher the risk of destabilising Israel's regional and internal security further.
Yet Israel's strategy is to decimate Iran's military and missile capacity before any potential ceasefire.
"Assuming their regime doesn't change, or assuming they don't agree to give up their missiles as part of a ceasefire, they are going to have a huge problem reconstituting their ballistic missile forces," said Jim Lamson, a former intelligence analyst and now a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
"That is going to be a big result of how much Israel is able to damage and destroy their production facilities for missiles."
Iran's show of force in recent days has demonstrated improved range, coordination, and impact. Military analysts also warn that this pace may be difficult for Tehran to maintain over time, especially as Israeli strikes increasingly focus on degrading Iran's missile production infrastructure.
