Iraqi rocket attacks on Israel

On 17 January 1991, Iraq initiated a missile campaign against Israel. Over the course of the next month, approximately 42 Scud missiles were fired into Israeli territory, primarily at the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The missile attacks began on the same day as the Gulf War aerial bombardment campaign, which was targeting military infrastructure within Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. As many Muslim-majority countries were actively contributing to the American-led military coalition, the Iraqi government had expected them to rescind their support if Israel responded to the missile campaign by attacking Iraq. However, the United States convinced Israel not to retaliate, and the coalition began a ground offensive against Iraq on 23 February 1991.

Iraqi rocket attacks on Israel
Part of the Gulf War and the Arab–Israeli conflict

American surface-to-air missiles (MIM-104 Patriot) launching to intercept incoming Iraqi ballistic missiles (al-Husayn) over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, 12 February 1991
Date17 January 1991 (1991-01-17) – 23 February 1991 (1991-02-23)
(1 month and 6 days)
Location
Israel
Result

Iraqi strategic failure

Belligerents
 State of Israel
Supported by:
 United States		 Iraqi Republic
Supported by:
Palestine Liberation Organization[1][2][3][4]
Commanders and leaders
Yitzhak Shamir
(Prime Minister of Israel)
Chaim Herzog
(President of Israel)		 Saddam Hussein
(President of Iraq)
Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai
(Minister of Defense)
Strength
N/A 42 Scud missiles
Casualties and losses
 None

Background

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, the armies of Iraq and Israel saw action against one another as part of the broader Arab–Israeli conflict. Throughout the entire Iran–Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, Israel supported Iran in its war against Iraq through the supply of military equipment including spare parts for fighter jets, missile systems, ammunition and tank engines.[6] At the onset of the conflict, approximately 80% of all weaponry imported by Iran originated from Israel. On 7 June 1981, Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak Nuclear Reactor with Iranian intelligence support.[7] Israel's motivations for supporting Iran stemmed from a fear of what would have become if Iraq came out victorious and as an opportunity to create business for the Israeli arms industry.[8]

Attacks

Throughout the entire Gulf War air campaign, Iraqi forces fired approximately 42 Scud missiles into Israel from 17 January to 23 February 1991.[9][10] The strategic and political goal of the Iraqi campaign was to provoke an Israeli military response and potentially jeopardize the United States-led coalition against Iraq, which had full backing and/or extensive contributions from an overwhelming majority of the states of the Muslim world and would have suffered immense diplomatic and material losses if Muslim-majority states rescinded their support due to the political situation of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Despite inflicting casualties on Israeli civilians and damaging Israeli infrastructure, Iraq failed to provoke Israeli retaliation due to pressure exerted by the United States on the latter to not respond to "Iraqi provocations" and avoid any bilateral escalations.[11][12]

The Iraqi missiles were predominantly aimed at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa.[13] Despite numerous missiles being fired, a number of factors contributed to the minimisation of casualties in Israel.[14]

Missiles

Throughout the late 80's, Iraq modified their Scud missile arsenal to create an SRBM known as the Al Hussein. The primary reason for the upgrades was to increase the range of such missiles. However, missile range increase came at a cost of accuracy and structural stability and on a number of occasions, Iraqi missiles fired at Israel either broke up mid-air or fell short of their target. In addition, the missile warheads themselves on a number of occasions failed to detonate with a reported dud missile rate of over 10%.[14]

The missiles fired against Israel were conventional warheads and were not of chemical origin. Had chemical warheads been loaded, casualties would have been far greater.[14]

Warning time

From the second attack onwards, the Israeli population were given a few minutes warning of an impending missile attack. Due to shared United States' satellite information on missile launches, citizens were given appropriate time to seek shelter from the impending missile attack.[14]

Blast-resistant dwellings

Modern multi-story apartment buildings erected in Israel at the time of the attacks were constructed using reinforced concrete columns, beams and floors. Such structurally integral housing units helped to prevent buildings from collapsing as a result of a nearby missile impact.[14]

Casualties

Two Israeli civilians died as a direct result of the missile attacks.[5] Between 11 and 74 were killed from incorrect use of gas masks, heart attacks, and incorrect use of the anti-chemical weapons drug atropine.[5] A total of 4,100 buildings were damaged and at least 28 of those buildings destroyed. The area that sustained the most damage was the city of Ramat Gan.[14]

References
  1. "Arafat's costly Gulf War choice". Al Jazeera. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  2. Claiborne, William (31 January 1991). "ISRAELIS SEE PLO OPENING 'NEW FRONTS' TO HELP IRAQ". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  3. Diehl, Jackson (21 January 1991). "PALESTINIANS DODGING IRAQ'S MISSILES CHEER ON SADDAM". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  4. Hijazi, Ihsan A. (30 January 1991). "WAR IN THE GULF: Lebanon; P.L.O. Missiles Attack North of Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. Keinon, Herb (17 January 2021). "The day Israel's wars changed forever". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  6. Seale, Patrick (2 November 1980). "Israel sends spares for US arms to Iran". The Observer. London. p. 9.
  7. Parsi, Trita (2007). Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12057-8.
  8. Marshall, Jonathan; Scott, Peter Dale; Hunter, Jane (1987). The Iran–Contra Connection: Secret Teams and Covert Operations in the Reagan Era. Black Rose Books Ltd. ISBN 978-0-921689-15-7.
  9. Arens, Moshe (12 February 2018). "27 years since the Gulf War - why didn't Israel respond?". The Jerusalem Post (opinion). Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  10. "Iraqi missiles strike Israel". The Guardian. 18 January 1991. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  11. Gross, Judah Ari. "'We're going to attack Iraq,' Israel told the US. 'Move your planes'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  12. Walker, Martin; Fairhall, David (18 January 1991). "Iraqi missiles strike Israel". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  13. "PART III". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  14. Lews, George; Fetter, Steve; Gronlund, Lisbeth (1993). "CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE FROM SCUD ATTACKS IN THE 1991 GULF WAR" (PDF). MIT Defense and Arms Control Studies Program. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
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