As many Muslim-majority countries were actively contributing to the American-led military coalition, the Iraqi government had expected them to rescind their support if Israel responded to the missile campaign by attacking Iraq.

However, Israel was convinced by Jordan and the United States to not retaliate: Jordanian king Hussein bin Talal had persuaded Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir to consider Jordan's stability and not violate Jordanian airspace during a bilateral meeting two weeks earlier; and the Bush administration had increased defense aid to Israel for the purpose of actively countering Iraq's barrages and preventing an Israeli counterattack, thereby ensuring that the coalition's Muslim countries did not withdraw.

[4] Israel's motivations for supporting Iran stemmed from a fear of what would have become if Iraq came out victorious and as an opportunity to create business for the Israeli arms industry.

[5] Throughout the entire Gulf War air campaign, Iraqi forces fired approximately 42 Al Husayn missiles into Israel from 17 January to 23 February 1991.

[6][7] The strategic and political goal of the Iraqi campaign was to provoke an Israeli military response and potentially jeopardize the United States-led coalition against Iraq, which had full backing and/or extensive contributions from an overwhelming majority of the states of the Muslim world and would have suffered immense diplomatic and material losses if Muslim-majority states rescinded their support due to the political situation of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

[11] Modern multi-story apartment buildings erected in Israel at the time of the attacks were constructed using reinforced concrete columns, beams and floors.