What happened is a classic example of a successful ambush. And anyone can fall victim to a carefully planed ambush.
Most probably the Israeli Navy did often appear, off the coast of Beirut even before this conflict has started. So the enemy had the time and opportunity to work out the routine of Israeli Navy.
When the shooting has started the enemy observed the routine of the Israeli warships again and set up its ambush accordingly.
The Sa’ar 5 class can carry either one Phalanx or one 76mm. According to the news the ship was bombarding the airfield thus she must be carrying a 76mm. She had no CIWS other than VLS Barak missiles at the time of the incident.
Why the warship did not deployed her soft and hard kill measures is beyond my knowledge. But usually in an ambush one gets caught with the pants down.
This is the second time that an Israeli warship has been ambushed. Last time the destroyer Eilat was not as lucky.
As for the damage I am believe that we will never see the photos showing the actual damage. The Israeli propaganda machinery would not allow Hezbollah using the photos of the damage for their own purpose.
Most of the AShM missiles carry their own oxidizers. Even if the warhead does not explode the fuel and the oxidizer keep on burning in the ship. That can cause more damage than actual explosion of the warhead.
There are a couple lessons for any navy to learn from this incident:
1) Try not to fell into ambushes
2) The time spend training the crew for damage control for the case that the ship hits always pays back
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