A military base in Israel, reportedly housing missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, was targeted in a rocket attack on October 7th. The New York Times reported on this incident, citing satellite images.
According to the information, the rocket, believed to be launched by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, struck the Israeli military base of Sdot-Miha. Experts believe that this base holds a large number of missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload. While the missiles themselves were not damaged, the attack resulted in a fire in the surrounding area, according to the report.
Officially, Israel has never confirmed the existence of nuclear weapons. However, for over half a century, there has been a Nuclear Research Center in the northern part of the country, which allegedly produced up to 40 kg of plutonium per year in the 1980s. On October 11th, media outlets reported that the center may have been targeted in an attack from Lebanon.
The situation in the Middle East has escalated following the infiltration of thousands of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7th, when Hamas announced the start of the “Flood of Al-Aqsa” operation. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country is in a state of war.
The goal of Israel’s counter-operation, named “Iron Swords,” is to repel the attack, free over 200 hostages, including foreigners, and destroy Hamas. As part of this objective, Israel has been conducting massive missile strikes on the Gaza Strip from the first day of the operation. Additionally, the Israeli National Security Council decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the region. Humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza began only after October 20th through the Rafah checkpoint, although their volume is deemed insufficient.
On October 27th, Israel announced the “expansion” of its ground operation in Gaza. The exact start of this operation remains unknown, but prior to it, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuated their homes and moved to shelters and the southern part of the enclave. On November 5th, as part of the ground operation, IDF forces surrounded the city of Gaza and cut off its supply lines.
Previously, Medvedev mentioned the prospect of a century-long war in the Middle East.
