How might Israel respond to Iran’s missile barrage? Here’s what we know

The Middle East is edging ever closer toward a full-blown regional war as Israel vowed to respond to Iran’s huge barrage of ballistic missiles fired at the country on Tuesday night, capping a day of dramatic military escalation in the region.

“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said hours after the unprecedented attack.

Iran launched a salvo of about 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli military targets, its largest ever such attack, sending sirens blaring across Israel and activating the country’s sophisticated defensive systems.

Iran’s leadership said the attack was intended as a warning to Israel not to enter a direct war with its longtime enemy, and any Israeli response to the barrage would be met with “stronger and more painful” blows.

The escalation came about 24 hours after Israel launched a ground war in Lebanon to go after Hezbollah, a powerful militant group that is backed by Iran, and days after Israel killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut.

Iran gave 72 hours notice ahead of that attack, which was widely seen as designed to minimize casualties while maximizing spectacle with almost all of the 300 projectiles knocked out of the sky by Israel’s defense systems.

Israel responded a week later with a limited strike on Iran.

This time, Israel learned about the imminent threat just hours before Tehran launched the strikes, with targets including the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, in Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest city, Nevatim Air Base and Tel Nof Air Base.

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Iran’s Tuesday barrage was twice as large as the April attack. It also included many more ballistic missiles, which are harder to shoot down, posing a real threat to Israeli citizens – many of whom evacuated to shelters during the attack.

While the Israeli military said most of the missiles were intercepted, some landed on Israeli soil and appeared to cause damage. Shock waves caused by the attack also damaged homes in central Israel, authorities in the country said.