Hamas rocket struck Israeli base 'storing up to 50 Jericho nuclear missiles'

A rocket likely fired by Hamas during the October 7 attacks struck a strategic Israeli military base where as many as 50 Jericho nuclear missiles are stored, it has been claimed.

Luckily the Hamas rocket did not hit the missiles at the Sdot Micha base, which is located 25 miles northeast of Gaza.

But it did cause a blaze close to other storage facilities, according to analysis by The New York Times.

The missile is thought to have struck at around 10am and landed in a small ravine near a large radar system.

Satellite images appear to show that the explosion sparked a fire in the dry vegetation, which Israeli firefighters attempted to put out.

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At least two firefighting aircraft were seen near the fire, according to the analysis, and new roads seem to have been cut through the woods close to the blast zone.

The report claims that through the fire burned around 40 acres at the base, weaponry and equipment remained safe, with the flames stopping approximately 1,000 feet away from the nearest suspected Jericho missile facility.

The IDF declined to comment.

Israel will neither confirm nor deny having nuclear weapons but many experts believe they do have at least a small number of the devastating weapons.

Hans Kristensen, Director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project, told The Times he estimates 25 to 50 nuclear-capable Jericho missile launchers are being stored at the Sdot Micha base.

The Jericho III intercontinental ballistic missile is reported to be the most advanced nuclear missile in the Middle East.

It’s guided by radar and can carry a 750kg nuclear warhead over a range of 4,800-6,500km, meaning it can strike targets as far away as the US.

But Kristensen said the warheads are probably stored elsewhere, and that even if the fire had spread to the facility, the underground storage facilities would have been able to withstand the damage.

But he said having a fire that big close to a critical munitions depot posed a number of risks.

“All sorts of things can go wrong,” he told the outlet.

The analysis found that "the scope of the Oct. 7 attacks may have been even greater than previously known and that rockets can penetrate the airspace around Israel’s closely guarded strategic weapons."

Hamas launched a coordinated attack on Israel on Oct. 7 launching over 5,000 missiles.

Hundreds of civilians were killed or taken hostage.

The volume of missiles fired by Hamas overwhelmed Israel's celebrated $1 billion "Iron Dome" missile defence system as thousands of rockets were launched from Palestine.

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