The hailstorm unleashed upon Egypt brought sweeping destruction to the landscape, striking both living creatures and vegetation with precise, devastating force. The onslaught felt like a relentless rhythm of massive blows landing one after the other. While the ruin seemed absolute, it was actually a vast devastation rather than total annihilation, as some plant life ultimately survived [קאסוטו].
The exceptional lethality of the storm against humans and animals came from its unique nature. Some explain that the hailstorm occurred in stages. The initial strike fell at the speed of lightning, hitting with the force of a bullet and leaving no time for anyone to seek shelter; this sudden impact was what killed the people and livestock caught outside [מלבי״ם]. Others suggest that the hailstones actually contained fire. Since the physical impact of the ice alone would not have been enough to kill strong individuals, the stones shattered upon hitting the people, allowing the fire to catch onto their hair and clothing and burn them [העמק דבר]. Faced with this impending disaster, some Egyptians saw that their penned animals were doomed. In a desperate move, they rushed to slaughter the livestock moments before the hail struck, hoping to at least salvage the meat for food [פרדס יוסף].
Following the initial lethal barrage, the storm shifted its focus to the plant life. A more natural, yet still destructive, hail continued to fall, ruining the crops without killing more people [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, the fire trapped within the hailstones could not burn the moist crops that were attached to the ground. Instead, it was the sheer physical force of the hard, plummeting ice that crushed the vegetation [העמק דבר], completely drying out and destroying the grasses [אבן עזרא הקצר].
The relentless storm also smashed the branches of the trees [קאסוטו]. This damage was concentrated specifically on isolated trees standing out in the open or those used as boundary markers. Because they were completely exposed, they bore the brunt of the storm, unlike trees growing densely in forests or gardens, which suffered less damage [העמק דבר]. Yet, despite possessing the incredible power to shatter trees, the hail miraculously did not destroy the homes of the Egyptians. This deliberate restraint served as clear proof that anyone who feared the word of God and gathered their servants and animals indoors was completely protected [ביאור יש״ר].
Amidst this sweeping devastation, God showed mercy to the Israelites, ensuring that neither they nor their livestock suffered any harm. Moses, however, chose not to point this out to Pharaoh. He understood that Pharaoh remained stubbornly defiant even in the face of such incredible wonders, and highlighting the safety of the Israelites would have made no difference to him [אבן עזרא, אבן עזרא הקצר].