Israelis Brace for a Possible New Raid, Debate Revenge : Military: A false alarm sends citizens scurrying for shelter. Four people suffocate in gas masks during attack.

After a day of devastation, Israel braced itself early today for a possible second missile strike from Iraq.

Late Friday, air raid sirens wailed out their terrifying signal across the nation again, and millions of Israelis grabbed their gas masks and sought shelter. But it turned out to be a false alarm.

Israel’s leaders convened late into the night to discuss whether to bomb Iraq in retaliation for the early Friday attack by Iraqi missiles, which damaged parts of Tel Aviv and Haifa and left about a dozen injured.

No one was reported killed by the missile explosions. But some deaths were believed to have resulted indirectly from the attack. According to Israeli police, three elderly women and a 3-year-old Arab girl suffocated in their gas masks during the raid. Most of the victims apparently had failed to remove a cap on the breathing canisters of their government-issued gas masks.

Dozens more became ill, authorities said, after prematurely injecting themselves with a nerve-gas antidote when there were early reports that the conventionally armed Iraqi missiles carried poison-gas warheads.

As to the question of Israeli retaliation, one official said, Israel’s inclination to strike Iraq immediately was moderated by a telephone discussion between Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and President Bush.

But Israel remained in consultation with Washington on whether to mount a vengeance strike in return for the Iraqi action.

The Americans would like to see Israel delay retribution in order to avoid angering America’s Arab allies in the multinational force arrayed against Iraq, possibly splitting the alliance.

Late Friday, Defense Minister Moshe Arens told Israel Radio: “We have said publicly and to the Americans that if we were attacked, we would react. We were attacked.

“We will react, certainly.”

And the armed forces chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, declared: “An attack on our civilians cannot go without a response.”

But there was no confirmation of Israel’s intention from Prime Minister Shamir.

At 8:45 p.m. Friday, the sirens sounded across the country and citizens took shelter, donning their gas masks. But 45 minutes later, the all-clear was sounded.

An army spokesman said, “We had an alert that missiles would be fired toward Israel, but no missiles were shot.”

There were some reports that the false alarm was touched off by the sight of a Soviet rocket booster that fell from Earth orbit and burned its way through the skies over parts of the Middle East.

Two similar alarms that sounded in the early hours this morning also proved to be false.

Despite the successful air attacks on Iraqi missile sites announced Friday by American commanders in Saudi Arabia, Israeli officials warned the populace that they might face more incoming missiles and that the threat from chemical weapons, which Iraq is known to possess, still exists.

In Baghdad, Iraq confirmed Friday that it had fired the missiles that hit Israel. State radio reported that the barrage had “hit political and economic targets in Tel Aviv, Haifa and other areas.”

“Israel has to get out of the Palestinian land and other Arabs’ land,” the broadcast said. “Let the United States hear the wailing of its daughter implanted in the heart of the Arab homeland.”

All day Friday, various political and military leaders met in Jerusalem and at the defense headquarters in Tel Aviv to determine the appropriate Israeli response to the attack, which consisted of eight Soviet-designed, Scud-B ballistic missiles fired from launchers in western Iraq.

The hawks in the government were reportedly calling for immediate, massive strikes against Iraq’s missile sites and even populated areas. The moderates were said to have warned that a tough response could jeopardize the American-led military coalition in the Saudi desert and Persian Gulf.

Foreign Minister David Levy said the Israeli government had been consulting with Washington, but he emphasized: “It is the right and responsibility of Israel to take measures to defend itself.

“It is our obligation to react without delay, without putting it off. We must prevent him, (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein, from endangering the lives of our population. To those who think we should be advised not to react we ask:

“Would anyone else restrain himself? Will there be no more missiles aimed at Israel? Is there not danger they would have chemical and biological warheads? Should we refrain from ensuring the safety of our children and the entire population just to show we are following the advice of others to make things easier?”

Many Israelis speculated Friday on whether the next attack--if it comes--will be conventional or chemical.

The fact that no chemical warheads were involved in the Friday morning strike led some military analysts to suggest that Hussein may have none in his missile arsenal.