Last week, Dubai United Arab Emirates – Israeli fighters launched ballistic missiles last week to target Hamas leaders in Qatar, a U.S. defense official said, a novel approach designed to overcome energy-rich national defense capabilities and avoid access to airspace in any Middle Eastern countries.
The September 9 attack killed six people in the Qatar capital Doha Israel– The Hamas War destroyed the Gaza Strip in the last two years. More than a week after the missile was launched Israel Start a ground attack on Gaza City. This rekindled the anger in the region during the war, and the Doha attacks caused fear from other countries, who could also be attacked.
The Israeli military took advantage of the surprise by firing in a direction that Qatar or the United States did not expect, and their Middle East forward headquarters was operated by Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Force Base.
Even if these countries do know, experts say Qatar’s Patriot missile batteries may not be able to intercept missiles that pass through space with multiple sound speeds.
“We might be talking about a few minutes from fire to impact, so it’s been a few minutes,” said Sidharth Kaushal, a missile expert and senior fellow at the Royal United Services think tank in London. “Even if (Patriot Battery) did pick it up, it was a silly luck at that time.”
The U.S. defense official told the Associated Press that the missiles were fired on the Red Sea by Israeli fighters, with Hamas leaders gathering in Qatar to consider a ceasefire proposal for a Gaza. Officials have a direct understanding of how Israel Conduct strikes and discuss intelligence affairs under anonymity.
US defense officials, who also declined to be named, said the Israeli strike was a “horizon” attack outside Qatar’s airspace. The term is commonly used by the U.S. military to describe air strikes carried out from large distances.
By launching ballistic missiles into space, Israel Place missiles outside space in surrounding Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia Israel Lang wants to reach a diplomatic recognition agreement.
“There is a political factor that you are not flying on Saudi airspace and violating their sovereignty in the process, which is obviously useful,” Kaushal said.
They also went west to the east as surveillance of the Qatar air defense system run by Americans or Qataris. The major regional threat that Gulf countries have been concerned about is emerging from northern Iran.
The ballistic missile flew into the upper atmosphere and even space, and then returned several times at a sound speed. Although Patriot batteries cannot impact at these altitudes, the terminal high-altitude defense system (Thaad) can. Qatar ordered one during President Donald Trump’s visit in May.
The U.S. said it called Qatar once it was learned of the Israeli attack, but Doha officials said the warning was issued only after the missile hit.
Israeli officials spoke only on anonymity to discuss the details of the attack, saying about 10 aircraft participated in the mission and fired about 10 missiles. Israel The exact details of the weapon used or strike have not been confirmed.
The Israeli military, the Katari government and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. The White House declined to comment and asked the Israeli government.
The Wall Street Journal first reported this method Israel Used to attack Hamas in Qatar.
Russia’s use in its war against Ukraine has been common as Moscow attempts to protect its aircraft from Ukraine’s air defense. China demonstrated a nuclear-capable ballistic missile launched this month during a Victory Day parade.
Israel There are several variants of air-launched ballistic missiles that were publicly known after U.S. intelligence documents leaked last year. They include golden horizons and IS02 rocks, smart file recommendations Israel Possibly used to target Iran.
Israel A 12-day war against Iran was launched in June, which included the use of “standoff” weapons, which allowed aircraft to fire at targets from targets outside of a country’s airspace. Experts said the weapons used included ballistic missiles launched, pointing out missile debris later found on Iraq’s ground.
Jeffrey Lewis, a missile expert at Middlebury International Institute Israel’s sparrow.
The sparrow includes an option with an inert warhead, which may explain the limited damage caused, and the gas station at the fixed strike site did not explode. Its estimated range is about 2,000 km (1,240 miles). The Red Sea launch of the site will be as high as 1,700 km (1,055 miles).
“Even an inert warhead should hit a lot of power – say a few hundred kilograms (pounds) of TNT,” Lewis said.
___
Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to the report.
