Thirty years after the Gulf War, the IDF released material from its war archive, including videos of Israeli sites where missiles struck and photos of Israelis families in their “safe rooms.”

The IDF also released documents on the war, including an operational log that recorded how many Patriot missiles were fired by Israel in response to Scud missiles fired by Iraq and how many Israelis unnecessarily injected themselves with atropine, used to treat nerve agent poisoning, in fear of Iraq’s threats of chemical warfare.

In the course of the war, from January 17 to February 25, 1991, 38 Iraqi Scud missiles were launched into Israel, mainly hitting the Tel Aviv area and Haifa. The missiles directly caused two civilian deaths as well as another 11 deaths due to heart attacks and incorrect use of chemical warfare kits. A total of 208 people were injured by missile strikes and 225 people were injured due to the unnecessary injection of atropine. There was also property damage to 1,302 houses, 6142 apartments, 23 public buildings, 200 stores and 50 cars.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)