Shrapnel from the errant surface-to-air missile fired from Syria toward an Israeli jet landed in southern Israel overnight Wednesday. Pieces of shrapnel were found in the community of Ashalim, about 40 kilometers from the nuclear reactor in Dimona.

“At two in the morning I heard a loud boom and I thought something fell inside my house,” said Sonya Revivo, a resident of Ashalim. “I searched the area but I didn’t see anything. In the morning we were drinking coffee outside and then my husband saw metal inside the pool. We called the police and they came quickly.”

“It’s very scary because there was no siren. I have three kids at home and if it would have happened in the middle of the day…chas v’chalilah, I don’t want to think…if a child would have been there, it could have ended differently.”

The IDF has opened an investigation into why Israeli air defenses failed to intercept the missile, which exploded in mid-air. Fortunately, no injuries or major damage were incurred.

The missile that exploded was an SA-5, which has a 200 kilogram (440 pound) warhead and is intended to intercept aircraft in the air but can cause significant damage if it hits the ground.

In 2019, an SA-5 missile fired by Syria at an Israeli jet ended up exploding in Cyprus, causing a large explosion and a fire inside a village.

IDF spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said that the incident was not a deliberate attack on Israel or its nuclear facility in Dimona.

“There was no intention of hitting the nuclear reactor in Dimona,” Zilberman said.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)