You've gotten some answers on what a ballistic missile is, but just in case anyone needs more clarification:
The missiles that Hamas has been sending into Israel for decades now are unguided and "homemade", essentially just model rockets on steroids. They weld together a rocket body with fins and then use a fuel made from fertilizer such as potassium/urea nitrate. For the warhead (explosive tip) they use high explosives that they scavenge from military targets or (rarely) make themselves.
Since they are unguided and fairly amateur, they cause a high degree of collateral damage since it's impossible to accurately aim them at military targets. Generally it seems that Hamas doesn't really care where they hit, they just want them to hit anywhere in Israel (including civilian housing).
These amateur missiles are the rockets that the Iron Dome is designed to defend against, and the system generally does a great job at stopping them.
The missiles in the OP are military-grade ballistic missiles, hence why the Iron Dome is effectively useless less effective against them.
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u/jabronified Oct 02 '24
last time for iran mostly sent slow moving drones. but yes, the difference is these are ballistic missiles and a lot of them