Iran fired retaliatory strikes against Israel Friday night … sending a barrage of missiles into the Jewish state that were met by Israeli air defense systems, which caused massive explosions in the sky and on the ground.

The New York Times authenticated footage of the attack posted to social media –  and the paper reported the Iranian missiles targeted military facilities in central Tel Aviv, where the Israeli Defense Forces headquarters is located.

Check out the videos … one shows a bunch of Iran’s lethal rockets zigzagging high above Tel Aviv — and they are intercepted by Israel’s missile defenses, triggering the mid-air explosions.

Suddenly, two incoming Iranian missiles in the form of streaking lights break through Israel’s defense systems, raining down on the city and detonating with bright flashes when they hit the ground.

A second video shows an Israeli defense missile being shot into the sky followed by an Iranian rocket crashing into Tel Aviv with a burst of fire.

On Thursday night, Israel kicked things off by launching the first wave of bombings against Iran to wipe out nuclear and missile sites, as well as Iran’s military leaders and nuclear scientists. Several senior members of the Iranian military and two top scientists were killed in the strikes.