On Wednesday night, the Syrian army launched missiles at Israel but a video released on Twitter shows that at least one missile changed course after launch, striking inside Syria.
Intellitimes, an intelligence analysis website, suggested that the misfire was caused by a loss of radar lock after the launch. It could also be that the missile control ordered the missiles to the ground immediately after launching for some reason.
Another explanation was offered by UA Wire, a Ukranian analysis website. The website noted that the Russian S-400 Triumph missile systems failed to operate and the Pantsir guided missiles seen in the video self-detonated.
“Israel’s Defense Ministry has not made an official comment on the matter,” UA Wire noted. “However, it is noteworthy that the Israeli Air Force used Delilah cruise missiles, which are designed for combat against radar systems and contain radar jamming devices, which lends credibility to the theory. According to data from several sources, at least eight cruise missiles were fired against targets in the region of the Syrian capital. Of these, only two were shot down, which demonstrated the extremely poor effectiveness of the anti-air defense systems.”
In short, they suggest that electronic countermeasures installed in Israeli cruise missiles were effective at neutralizing Russian missiles fired at them. Though the website claims the systems only worked against two of the Syrian rockets, giving a 25 percent effectiveness, the video showed at least four missiles being neutralized at a very early stage, giving the Israeli countermeasures at least a 50 percent effectiveness rating.
It should be noted that this is not the first time the hand of God has sent missiles back to fall upon the enemies of Israel. In 2016, Russia sent the advanced S-300 anti-air system to Iran. The move caused great concern in Israel but Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi, a prominent spiritual leader, reassured his followers that the missiles were not a threat. The rabbi predicted, “These missiles, which can shoot down practically any plane, will get a virus in their computers, and go crazy. They will blow up inside their bunkers. The launcher will blow up underneath them.”
A few weeks later, a YouTube video showed precisely what the rabbi had prophesied: a missile shot out of an S-300 launcher but its rocket failed to ignite. The missile dropped back onto its launcher, exploding inside the bunker.
