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Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Israel’s Iron Dome system, that is meant to protect populated areas and critical assets by neutralising short-range aerial threats, managed to intercept thousands of rockets launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah on Monday.
The famous Iron Dome of Israel swung back in action on Monday after Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets. Hezbollah’s strikes came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombarded the hideouts of the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
Israel’s Iron Dome system, that is meant to protect populated areas and critical assets by neutralising short-range aerial threats, managed to intercept thousands of rockets launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah.
The Israeli military has also warned its citizens to expect incoming missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah, with air alert sirens sounding across Haifa and Carmel in the country’s north.
“Israeli enemy strikes on southern towns and villages since this morning have killed 274 people and wounded 1,024 others,” a statement from the Lebanese health ministry said, adding that “children, women and paramedics” were among the casualties.
What is Israel’s Iron Dome?
When Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel in October 2023, by firing thousands of rockets from Gaza, many of these were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system.
The Israeli-designed Iron Dome system is meant to protect populated areas and critical assets by neutralising short-range aerial threats. The defence system can intercept targets in the airspace and performs fast, complex calculations to detect the trajectory, speed and expected target of the rocket. It then uses these calculations to destroy the missiles in the air.
The first battery was deployed in March 2011 near the southern city of Beersheva — 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Gaza Strip, and a favourite Hamas target — to combat Soviet-designed Grad rockets fired from the Palestinian territory. Israel now has at least 10 such batteries.
HOW IRON DOME WORKS?
The Iron Dome is considered among the most advanced defence systems in the word and it uses radar to identify and destroy incoming threats in the air.
The weapon system has been designed to help combat shorter-range rudimentary weapons like the rockets fired from Gaza. Each battery of the Iron Dome has a radar detection and tracking system, a firing control system and three launchers for 20 interceptor missiles.
Each battery has a range of between 4-70 kilometres. Moreover, the batteries are mobile so they can be moved to wherever they are required.
WHY IS IRON DOME SIGNIFICANT
Iron Dome was developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, a state-owned arms company based in the northern city of Haifa. It is also partly funded by the United States, which committed $5 billion to its development costs in 2016.
Ever since its introduction in 2011, it has become a mainstay of the Israel’s defense.
It is one of the strategic pillars of the US-Israeli alliance which has been followed by successive Democratic and Republican administrations. In August 2019 the US Army signed a contract to purchase two Iron Dome batteries to enhance its own short-range missile defence capabilities.
Israel has other missile defence systems such as the Arrow, to counter ballistic missiles, and David’s Sling, for medium-range rocket or missile attacks.