Attack on Israel by Iran: What is the Iron Dome? According to Israeli military officials, Iran launched an attack on Israel on Saturday night, launching over 300 unmanned drones and missiles against locations around the nation.
Officials indicated that Israel and its allies, which include the US, intercepted all but a small number of them.
Although Israel has not taken credit for the incident, the Pentagon announced on April 2 that it was the cause of an airstrike in Damascus, Syria, that claimed the lives of seven people, including a senior Iranian commander.
More over six months have passed since the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, following which the Israeli military started bombarding the Gaza Strip.
According to Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Sunday, there is just one confirmed Israeli casualty from the Iranian attack: a teenager who was hit by shrapnel that appeared to have come from an intercepted missile and left her with serious injuries. The girl, who is seven years old, is still in “difficult and unstable” condition, the hospital reported on Sunday. The hospital declared, “She has a very serious head injury and her life is in danger.”
Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, declared on Sunday that Iran has learned its lesson from Israel and threatened to respond “heavierly” to “any new adventures against the interests of the Iranian nation.” The UN representative for Iran declared on Sunday that “the issue can be considered closed.”
It is up to Israeli forces to respond to Iran’s attack, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Sunday. However, he emphasized that President Joe Biden does not wish for the situation to worsen or for the United States to become more involved in any conflict.
According to Israeli officials, Iran’s attack on Saturday posed a significant test for the nation’s Iron Dome defensive system, which successfully deflected 300 “threats of various types” out of its path.
Hagari claims that during the strike, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), at than 120 ballistic missiles, and more than 30 cruise missiles.
According to Hagari, “99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted — a very significant strategic achievement.”
How does the Iron Dome operate and what is it?
An Iron Dome battery, like many other contemporary air defense systems, tracks incoming missiles with the help of an advanced radar system. Tamir missiles are then fired from several launchers that are connected to the radar system to intercept the missiles.
Up to 20 Tamir interceptor missiles can be carried by each of the three or four launchers that make up an Iron Dome battery.
The device is capable of bringing down rockets fired between two and forty miles away.
Since going into service in 2011, the mobile air defense system has successfully intercepted a significant number of missiles that were aimed against Israel.
According to information released by the Israeli Defense Forces, during the May 2023 missile assault conducted by Islamic Jihad into Israel, 95.6% of the Iron Dome interceptors deployed by the system were able to destroy the rockets.
The information provided by the IDF emphasizes the fact that not every rocket that enters Israeli territory is intercepted by an interceptor missile. Rather, the system only activates interceptors when an approaching rocket threatens a populated region, as determined by tracking data. The rocket will land in an unpopulated location if it is not considered a threat.
The Iron Dome is usually found in the vicinity of cities or other densely populated areas that have previously been the target of inbound rockets.