Israeli military censorship covered up successful Iranian missile strikes on key bases, satellite data reveals
By isabelle // 2025-07-07
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  • Israeli censors hid reports that Iranian missiles struck at least five military sites, including Tel Nof airbase and Glilot intelligence center.
  • Satellite data exposes declining interception rates, with 16% of Iranian missiles penetrating Israeli defenses, suggesting weakened air superiority.
  • Iran used tactical deception with drones and missiles to overwhelm Israel’s tracking systems, exploiting gaps in its defense network.
  • Israel’s strict military censorship laws suppress truth about damage, denying citizens transparency while enabling state-sponsored disinformation.
  • Journalists confirm unreported strikes, contradicting Israel’s invincibility narrative, as Iran leverages footage of successful attacks for propaganda.
The Israeli government has once again resorted to suppressing critical details about its military vulnerabilities. According to satellite radar data analyzed by Oregon State University researchers and obtained by The Telegraph, Iranian missiles successfully struck at least five Israeli military facilities during a recent 12-day conflict in damage that Israeli censors prevented from being publicly reported. The findings expose a deliberate effort to manipulate public perception while hiding the true extent of Iran’s military precision against the Jewish state. Six Iranian ballistic missiles reportedly hit sensitive Israeli defense installations, including Tel Nof airbase, the Glilot intelligence gathering center, and the Zipporit logistics hub. These strikes, confirmed through satellite-based blast detection, were omitted from official Israeli reports due to strict military censorship laws that prohibit media from disclosing sensitive defense information. The IDF refused to confirm specifics, stating only that "all relevant units maintained functional continuity throughout the operation."

The illusion of invincibility unravels

For years, Israel has marketed its Iron Dome and multi-layered air defense systems as nearly impenetrable shields against foreign aggression. Yet The Telegraph’s analysis reveals a sobering truth: Israeli and U.S. interception rates declined as the conflict progressed, with approximately 16% of Iranian missiles penetrating defenses by the seventh day in an alarming increase that can be attributed to rationed interceptor stocks or increasingly sophisticated Iranian weaponry. Although the Israeli government dismissed reports of ammunition shortages, experts suggest that conserving interceptors for high-value targets may have contributed to the slippage. Iranian forces reportedly employed tactical deception, mixing slower-moving drones with fast missiles to overwhelm Israeli tracking systems. One Iranian official told The Telegraph, "The main goal of firing [suicide drones] at Israel is always to keep their systems busy. Many don’t even get through — they’re intercepted — but they still cause confusion." This strategy, combined with potential upgrades to Iran’s missile arsenal, challenges the narrative of Israel’s defensive supremacy.

State-sponsored deception

What makes these revelations particularly alarming is Israel’s systemic censorship, which extends beyond wartime. Israeli media outlets are legally required to submit security-related stories to military censors in an archaic practice virtually unheard of in Western democracies. The suppression of factual damage reports not only distorts global perceptions but also denies Israeli citizens the right to transparency about threats to their own safety. Investigative journalist Raviv Drucker of Israel’s Channel 13 broke ranks with the censored narrative, stating: "There were a lot of [Iranian] missile hits in IDF bases… in strategic sites that we still don’t report about to this day. It created a situation where people don’t realize how precise the Iranians were and how much damage they caused in many places." Drucker’s rare admission underscores the deliberate obfuscation perpetuated by Israel’s security apparatus. Meanwhile, Iran has weaponized footage of successful strikes in its domestic propaganda, portraying the conflict as a victory over Israel’s "faulty" defenses. State media broadcasts cartoons mocking the Iron Dome while revolutionary anthems play over clips of missile impacts. Maj. Gen. Ali Fazli of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boasted that only "25 to 30% of existing missile capability" had been deployed, despite Israeli estimates that half of Iran’s launchers were destroyed in counterstrikes. The suppression of the Iranian strikes’ success fits Israel’s strategy of maintaining an image of invulnerability to secure arms deals and geopolitical alliances. As Corey Scher of Oregon State University noted, satellite radar can detect structural damage but requires ground verification—access blocked by Israeli secrecy. Without independent confirmation, the public must rely on the very institutions invested in controlling the narrative. Israel’s insistence on censoring inconvenient truths reveals a regime more committed to preserving its mythos than confronting reality. The suppression of Iranian missile successes not only misleads Israeli citizens but also erodes global trust in the country’s transparency. If democracies thrive on open discourse and accountability, Israel’s actions place it firmly outside those values. The world deserves the full story, not the sanitized version approved by censors. Sources for this article include: RT.com Telegraph.co.uk TimesOfIsrael.com
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