Live updates: Israel promises response to Iran's missile attack, attacks in Lebanon and Gaza continue

An Iranian soldier stands next to an Iranian Shahab-3 missile in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2022.

Variants of Iran's Shahab-3 ballistic missile were used in the Iranian attack on Israel, weapons experts who analyzed verified social media videos from the crime scene told CNN.

Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior ordnance technician, told CNN that images and videos of the attack identified fragments consistent with Shahab-3 variants such as Emad or Ghadr. According to Ball, one video showed debris from a launch vehicle with visible markings from an Emad missile. Other models such as the Kheibar Shekan or, less likely, a Fattah could have been used, he added.

According to Patrick Senft, a research coordinator at Armament Research Services (ARES), the Shahab-3 is the basis for all of Iran's medium-range ballistic missiles, which use a liquid propellant. “It is most likely based on a North Korean missile, which in turn is likely based on the Scud missiles developed by the Soviet Union. “The Shahab-3 was the first Iranian ballistic missile capable of reaching Israel,” he added.

According to Ball and Senft, remnants of an Iranian ballistic missile, including the guidance section and warhead, were visible in images and videos collected by CNN at the site of a missile attack on a Shalhavot Chabad school in Gedera. Due to a lack of reference images, it is difficult to identify the exact model, Ball said.

Hypersonic claims: Weapons experts expressed skepticism over claims that Iran used its Fattah 1 hypersonic missile for the first time in its attack on Israel.

“It's one of their newest ballistic missiles, and they have a lot to lose by using it,” Ball said. “Israel would get an idea of ​​its capabilities just by using it. There's also the possibility that it won't work, giving Israel an even better idea of ​​its capabilities. They get free propaganda and risk nothing by saying it was used.”