The Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Unit confirmed that on early Thursday morning, alarms went off in Abu Qrenat, near Dimona in southern Israel.
Loud Explosions Across the Country
In a recently published article in The Jerusalem Post, residents from all over the country, including central Israel and Jerusalem, recorded "loud blasts" that "shook the buildings." According to early news, the blast was caused by a patriot battery reacting to a missile fired toward Israel. The claims were later verified by the IDF.
Even though the Israel Defense Forces is already investigating the incident they released a statement and it reads "Due to a surface to air missile entering Israeli territory, air defense systems were activated."
This became trending in social media. One posted a video on Twitter and wrote "Sounds of explosions near Jerusalem, Modiin, Rechovot, Kiryat Ono, Beersheba and more. Reports of the use of a Patriot system being used."
It was not obvious where the rocket was fired from at first. Several indicators pointed to the missile being fired from Iraq, while other sources said it was launched from the city of Daraa in southern Syria in response to an Israeli airstrike, according to a published report in a local news outlet HAARETZ.
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Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Released A Statement
Later, Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters that the blast was caused by the launch of an SA-5 surface-to-air missile from Syria that exploded in the southern Negev. The missile was launched during Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria. According to Zilberman, the missile was not aimed at any specific target.
According to the spokesperson, Israel responded to the SA-5 missile attack on IAF jets by targeting several anti-aircraft batteries in Syria, including the one that launched the missile that exploded in southern Israel.
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Large Explosion in Central Israel
According to a recently published article in The Times of Israel, on Tuesday morning, a major explosion occurred at a state-owned rocket plant in central Israel, causing no casualties or injury in what the defense contractor called a "managed drill." The blast sent up a huge plume of fire and smoke that could be seen from miles away outside the central Israeli town of Ramle.
Videos of the explosion were widely spread on social media, sparking rumors that it was the result of a failure or sabotage, especially given the continuing tensions between Israel and Iran.
Indeed, the explosion at the sensitive military site was widely reported in Iranian newspapers, with some suggesting that it was a kind of retribution by Tehran for the recent blast at its Natanz nuclear plant, which was widely blamed on Israel.
The Israeli defense contractor insisted that the photographs were deceptive and that the blast was staged as part of a lawsuit. "This was a controlled evaluation with no irregular incidents," a company spokeswoman said. However, neither the Defense Ministry nor the corporation confirmed or reported the blast in advance.
