Iran has unleashed one of its heaviest missile waves of the war, firing dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles toward Israel in a coordinated barrage that, for the first time, punched visible holes in the country’s famed Iron Dome shield, defence officials say.

Just after midnight, sirens screamed from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv as radar screens filled with launch tracks from western Iran and proxy positions in Syria and Lebanon. Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow batteries lit up the sky, interceptors colliding with incoming warheads in a lattice of orange fireballs. But several missiles—some believed to carry manoeuvring re‑entry vehicles and decoys—slipped through the defensive net.

In central Israel, one missile or large fragment slammed into an industrial zone, igniting fuel tanks and warehouses and sending a column of flame towering above the highway. Another impact near a residential neighbourhood left a deep crater, shattered windows across several blocks and killed or wounded multiple civilians sheltering in stairwells. Emergency rooms report dozens of casualties; entire families are spending the night in overcrowded bunkers.

Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard is celebrating the operation as proof that “the Zionist dome has rusted,” broadcasting triumphant graphics showing missiles arcing past Israeli interceptors. In Jerusalem, officials admit to a “limited but painful breach,” while insisting the vast majority of threats were destroyed and vowing a crushing response on Iran’s launch infrastructure.

From Washington to Brussels, markets and ministries are on edge. If Iran can field missiles that consistently penetrate one of the world’s most sophisticated air‑defence systems, strategists warn, the balance of power over the Middle East’s cities—and its energy routes—may be entering a far more dangerous era.