Tel Aviv — Israel says it has successfully blunted one of Iran’s heaviest salvos yet, intercepting the bulk of a combined missile and drone barrage aimed at air bases, command centers and major cities in the country’s center and north.

Just after midnight, sirens shrieked across Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and dozens of smaller towns as radar screens filled with inbound tracks from deep inside Iran and from proxy-held territory in Lebanon and Syria. Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow batteries roared to life almost simultaneously, firing volleys of interceptors that turned the sky into a lattice of white trails and mid‑air fireballs.

The IDF reports that “the overwhelming majority” of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as swarms of Shahed‑style drones, were destroyed in flight, though a handful of warheads detonated near a logistics hub and a fuel depot, causing fires, power cuts and a limited number of casualties.

In Tehran, the IRGC is calling the operation a “calibrated warning” and insists “many strategic targets were hit.” Israeli officials dismiss that as propaganda, framing the night as proof that the country’s multi‑layered shield can withstand sustained punishment — and vowing that every intercepted missile will be answered with a fresh wave of strikes on Iran’s launch sites and proxy forces.