The missile shield (Iron Dome) has only intercepted 150 of the 600 missiles fired from Gaza that have caused at least three deaths and numerous injuries. An expert explains what the reason is
More than 600 projectiles were launched in the last two days against Israel by the Hamas terrorist group from the Palestinian enclave in Gaza, causing at least three deaths and numerous injuries. The vast majority of these rockets and mortars fell in unpopulated areas, but 35 were full in populated areas causing death, injury, and destruction, according to Haaretz.
While the famous defensive system “Dome of Iron” could only intercept 150 of these projectiles, which has a question in Israel: Why this “shield” is not stopping the rocket rain?
Yaakov Amidror, former head of the Department of Research and Development of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told the Jerusalem Post that if the rockets or mortars are fired too close to their targets “there is not enough time to intercept them”, which constitutes a breach in the “missile shield”.
The vast majority of the projectiles were launched from Gaza in this way, without the terrorists being too concerned with accuracy but rather with volume. “It’s very easy to fire rockets when you do it in the short range and no matter where they fall,” said Amidror, a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Jerusalem.
In addition, the expert said that when it is understood that rockets and mortars are going to fall in clear places, no attempt is made by Iron Dome to intercept them. Unfortunately one of the deceased was the victim of one of these missiles, which impacted his vehicle when he was traveling on a route in one of these desert areas.
It is believed that these rockets and mortars were introduced into Gaza before 2013, before the regime change in Egypt, which shares a border with the enclave, put a stop to the shipments of the Islamist group from the Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas. Or they were manufactured in the same enclave with machinery and materials entered before that date.
In addition, Israel considers that the funds for the purchase of these weapons and materials were provided by the Iranian regime, which maintains links with Hamas and especially with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, which also operates in Gaza.
The IDF has been conducting bombings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad facilities in retaliation for this wave of attacks. In one of these bombings Hamed Ahmed Abed Khudari, a senior Hamas militant responsible for a financial institution in the enclave through which Iran sends money for the activities of terrorist groups, died.
