Iran Shifts Tactics: Lone Missiles, Minimal Warnings in Overnight Attacks on Israel

JERUSALEM  – In a marked shift from the massive missile barrages that defined the early days of the conflict, Iran launched a series of small, surgical strikes against Israel overnight—firing only a handful of missiles in each round and offering little to no warning ahead of impact.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported three separate waves of missile fire beginning shortly after midnight and continuing into the early morning hours of Tuesday. Unlike previous large-scale attacks, each wave consisted of just one to five missiles, all of which were intercepted. However, the warning systems failed to alert some residents in time.

Midnight Strike Targets Air Force Base

The first barrage came at 12:24 a.m., triggering sirens in central and southern Israel. According to Iranian reports, the target was an Israeli Air Force base in the south that had been used to launch a strike on Iran’s state broadcasting compound in Tehran earlier this week. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it used a new vertical-launch ballistic missile—believed to be the “Kheibar” or “Khadar”—boasting a range of 2,000 kilometers and a warhead weighing up to one ton.

Footage released by Iranian proxy media in Iraq showed the missile launch, describing it as a “disappearing missile” that blends into the sky after liftoff. Israeli authorities have not confirmed the missile type.

Second Barrage Catches Gush Dan Off Guard

At 3:27 a.m., a second wave of fire targeted central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Givatayim, and numerous towns across the Sharon region. Between three and five missiles were launched, all intercepted. But many residents reported receiving the alert only moments before the explosions—or not at all.

“There was no warning in time to get to a shelter,” one Tel Aviv resident said. “It just hit and then the sirens went off.”

The IDF later acknowledged that the Home Front Command’s alert system did not cover all areas due to the short detection window.

Lone Missile to the North

A final incident occurred at 4:32 a.m., when a single missile was launched toward northern cities including Haifa, Acre, and Hadera. The missile was intercepted successfully. The brief alert came just two minutes before potential impact, again raising concerns about the country’s warning infrastructure under new Iranian tactics.

IDF: Air Superiority Holding, But Threat Persists

The Israeli military says the shift in Iranian tactics may be an attempt to mimic Houthi-style harassment strikes: unpredictable, low-volume, and meant to strain Israel’s detection and response systems. The IDF also suggested that Iranian missile salvos might be thinning due to Israeli air superiority over western Iran, including areas around Tehran.

In a statement, the military emphasized that “the public must continue to follow Home Front Command instructions,” adding that “air defenses are active across all fronts, but the system is not hermetic.”

As tensions remain high, Israeli officials say they are preparing for the possibility of more sporadic, unconventional missile attacks in the days ahead.