Since May 10th, countless missiles have been launched back and forth between Gaza and cities across Israel in one of the deadliest episodes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. While the death toll in Gaza has exponentially increased in the past two weeks, there have been significantly fewer casualties in Israel, who with the help of the Iron dome defence system has successfully thwarted airstrikes from Gaza.
What Is Israel’s Iron Dome Rocket Defence System?
So far an estimated 3000 rockets have been launched by the Hamas – Palestine Militant group – and other militant groups on Israel. However, The Iron Dome aerial defence system has successfully intercepted a streak of rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups. Manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Limited and considered to be the most advanced defence systems in the world, Iron Dome was designed to defend against short-range threats. It uses radar to identify and destroy incoming threats and/or missiles before they can cause damage. It basically thwarts short-range rockets fired from Gaza and protects itself from deadly threats. The Iron Dome became operational in 2011 and according to Rafael, its success rate is over 90%.
“The number of Israelis killed and wounded would be far higher if it had not been for the Iron Dome system, which has been a lifesaver as it always is,” Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said this week.
The Iron dome bears a significant cost and Israel now has 10 batteries deployed Iron Domes across the country, each with three to four launchers that can fire 20 interceptor missiles.
On April 18th on the onset of Ramadan, Israeli police officers barged into Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem cut the cables to the loudspeakers that broadcast prayers during the holy month. The date coincided with memorial Day in Israel and the president of the country was giving a speech that honours those who died fighting for the country. The guards fearing that the prayers will drown out the words of the president disrupted the gathering at the mosque. According to a report in The New York Times, this event, that barely registered in the world will set off a series of violent events, that has now escalated into a full-blown war and has killed at least 217 people in Gaza.
Israel’s access to the state of the art defence system has assured that there is a significant disparity in the power balance between the two nations. While most of the airstrikes aimed by Palestine at Israel was intercepted by the latter, Palestine had no such defence system to protect its citizens. One side has suffered more casualties than the other. A recent report in New York Times said that there has been over 200 Palestinian deaths and more than 50 of them were children. Over the weekend, Israel bombed several more buildings in Gaza that housed media personnel and later took to memeing their bombings. Several world leaders have appealed for the de-escalation of this war.
(The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on May 19, 2021 02:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).
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