Israel continued to pound Gaza on Thursday, vowing to “destroy” Hamas on the sixth day after a surprise terror attack by Palestinian militants. The country’s military said the operation was based on intelligence that Hamas was trying to steal many military-grade weapons and ammunition.
Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that runs Gaza, fired thousands of rockets into Israel on Saturday, overwhelming the nearly impenetrable system of the Iron Dome. The improvised rocket salvos pounded the major cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sending millions of Israelis scrambling to bomb shelters across southern Israel. The military has been deploying the Iron Dome for years to tackle such rocket attacks, but the latest barrage was too much for the state-of-the-art defense system.
In the past, the Iron Dome has thwarted over 90 percent of rockets launched at civilian and strategic areas of the country. According to the Ministry of Defense, the defense system comprises batteries of interceptor missiles, each launching three to four missiles simultaneously to destroy incoming rockets.
The defense system is a game changer because it allows the economy to function and people to continue to go to work in times of conflict, which would have been impossible in the past without such a system. Israeli rockets rarely hit populated areas, but those that do cause serious injuries and damage.
However, the new threat of Hamas UAVs has added to the difficulty in intercepting them. The drones are small, fast-moving, and surprisingly accurate. The missiles fired to take down the drones are even more precise. Their imaging infrared sensors allow operators to see what they are firing at, even at night.
Despite these advancements, Israel still faces a massive threat. The Israeli army focuses on hitting Hamas’s munitions warehouses and other strategic targets. Still, the militants can keep a steady flow of rockets at Israeli cities and towns.
The Israeli military is deploying the Iron Dome, a highly advanced air defense system that can intercept rockets and uncrewed aerial vehicles. The defense system has been tested during previous conflicts with Hamas and has proven effective.
The missiles used in the system are known as Tamir, and they can be launched at a wide range of targets, including enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles. The rockets can be launched at a speed of up to 2,700 meters a second, and they can be launched from distances of up to 25 kilometers.
During the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis, the Iron Dome shot down more than 4,500 rockets in the first few days of the conflict and intercepted over 800. A senior IDF official told Haaretz that the country’s security cabinet will meet on Sunday afternoon to discuss how to deal with the situation and that several options are being considered, including targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders, ground operations in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire mediated by Egypt.
