(Times of Israel) Judah Ari Gross - While Hamas and Islamic Jihad attempted to overwhelm Israel's Iron Dome by firing numerous rockets at a specific location, comparatively few rockets actually succeeded in penetrating the system, according to the Israel Defense Forces. In one case, over the course of one hour on Sunday evening, at least 117 rockets were fired at the city of Ashdod, but only one made it past Israel's air defenses. Maj. Tom Scott, a commander at an Iron Dome battery in southern Israel, said the missile defense system is capable of intercepting "many different threats," including "large barrages or short-range rockets or rockets fired at high altitude or at low altitude." While Iron Dome is not impenetrable, in the latest round the system had an 86% success rate - similar to previous rounds of intensive rocket fire. Scott noted that the Iron Dome's radars successfully spotted every rocket and mortar launch, which ensured that Israelis were warned of incoming projectiles ahead of time by sirens.
2019-05-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive