Israel has been rocked by its first direct encounter with Iran’s “monster” Khorramshahr‑4 ballistic missiles, after a night‑time barrage sent giant warheads hurtling toward major cities and strategic bases, defence officials say.

Sirens wailed from Tel Aviv to Haifa as early‑warning radars picked up the heavy missiles arcing out of western Iran. Each Khorramshahr‑4 is believed to carry a massive one‑ton warhead, designed to smash hardened bunkers and fuel depots. Residents filmed blinding flashes in the sky as Arrow and David’s Sling interceptors clawed at the incoming salvo, followed seconds later by bone‑shaking booms and windows blown out across multiple towns.

The Israel Defense Forces confirm that most of the missiles were intercepted at high altitude, but concede that “a small number” broke through. One impact cratered an area near a major air base in the Negev, damaging hangars and parked vehicles; another slammed into an industrial zone outside a coastal city, igniting warehouses and sending plumes of toxic smoke into the night. Early reports speak of several dead and dozens wounded, with emergency rooms overflowing.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is celebrating the strike as proof that its newest missile can “pierce the Zionist shield,” branding the Khorramshahr‑4 the “nightmare of Israel’s infrastructure.” Israeli commanders, while insisting their defences prevented a catastrophe, privately admit the size and speed of the warheads pose a brutal new challenge.

As daylight reveals twisted metal, scorched concrete and families sweeping glass from shattered apartments, one question now haunts Israeli war planners and their allies: was this a one‑off demonstration of horror—or the opening move in a sustained campaign of “monster” missile strikes that even the region’s most advanced defences may struggle to contain?