Videos show Israel's defense systems failing to intercept Iranian missiles

Dramatic footage showed the moment Israel's air defense systems failed to intercept some of the estimated 180 ballistic missiles fired by Iran as gunmen killed six in a suspected terrorist attack on a Tel Aviv light rail train, according to police.

In clips posted on social media, people can be heard gasping in horror as rockets – so often intercepted across the night sky – struck Israeli soil and exploded, while sirens wailed in the background.

Video shared by American journalist Jim Sciutto showed the rocket attacks, which prompted him to leave a rooftop in Tel Aviv and cut short his live report on CNN.

“Oh God, okay, guys, we have to get off the roof,” he said during the broadcast. “These are coming down right next to us. They're coming down. One, almost – we have to go in.”

The Israeli military confirmed that some rockets were not stopped by defense systems, adding that they landed in central and southern Israel.

“We conducted many intercepts,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement to CNN. “There are some impacts in the center and a few more in the south. We are currently assessing the situation. We are not aware of any injuries.”

Even though Iranian rocket fire appears to have been largely repelled, Tuesday was still a deadly day in Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that at least six people were killed and 17 injured, including a child, in a suspected terrorist attack on a light rail station in Jaffa, an old seaport in southern Tel Aviv.

Dramatic images showed two gunmen leaving the train station before reportedly opening fire. The suspected attackers fled on foot and were shot with pistols by security forces and civilians, officials said.

Israeli police said “terrorists” were behind the shooting, which occurred minutes before rockets struck the country.

Amir Cohen/Reuters

Israel's missile defense system consists of three tiers: the Iron Dome, a short-range air defense system; David's Sling, a medium-range anti-ballistic missile system; and Arrow, designed to intercept missiles flying outside Earth's atmosphere.

The systems are reportedly designed to let some projectiles through if their trajectory shows them hitting an empty desert – something that was done to create more capacity to stop missiles potentially aimed at civilians or military targets are. It is unclear which of Israel's defense systems failed on Tuesday and whether the missiles that flew through hit anything significant.

Itai Ron/Reuters

Joe Biden canceled a virtual appearance celebrating Rosh Hashanah with members of the Jewish community on Tuesday, just as Iran launched its attack. The White House said he was called to the situation room along with Kamala Harris.

Tensions in the Middle East have reached fever pitch in recent days, despite Biden publicly asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end hostilities in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere.

Foreign attacks on Hezbollah, whose leader was assassinated on Friday, prompted Iran to threaten Israel – a retaliation that appeared to have taken place on Tuesday, the eve of the Jewish New Year.

Israel, Iraq and Jordan all temporarily closed their airspace on Tuesday. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, promised in a statement that Iran “should expect a tough response.”

Biden said one of his final priorities as president would be to end Israel's war with Hamas and bring home the remaining Israeli hostages still held captive in Gaza.

There were several instances where Biden said he believed a ceasefire agreement was close to being finalized, but it never materialized. The latest example came just last week, when U.S. officials signaled they were confident a ceasefire would be implemented “in the coming hours.”

However, this ceasefire never materialized and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed a day later, on Friday. On Monday, the Israeli military announced that it had begun “limited ground operations” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon – something Israeli opponents in the Middle East likened to an invasion.