Videos showing the effectiveness of Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system against rockets from Gaza have been posted and watched hundreds of thousands of times on the internet. They show dozens of glowing bullets whirring through the air against the black night sky and lighting up brightly against a backdrop of sirens and explosions.
An Iron Dome battery consists of a radar unit and a control center that can detect projectiles soon after their launch and calculate their trajectory and target. It takes seconds for an approaching projectile to be detected. This is crucial because depending on how far they live from the Gaza Strip, people in Israel might only have 15 to 90 seconds to get to safety when the sirens start wailing.
A battery also has three or four rocket launchers with 20 missiles each should projectiles be headed toward populated areas. The interceptor missiles can be maneuvered in the air. However, they are not designed to strike an approaching projectile but to explode close by and destroy it in the process. Falling debris can, therefore, still cause considerable damage.
'Damage and casualties'
There are currently 10 mobile Iron Dome systems in use in Israel. According to their manufacturer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which develops military and defense technologies for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), a single battery can protect a medium-sized city and intercept rockets fired from a maximum of 70 kilometers away. Experts calculate that 13 systems would be needed in order to defend the entire country.
There are currently 10 Iron Dome batteries in use in Israel
Iron Dome is designed to intercept short-range rockets and is used to complement other systems that Israel also uses.
The head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, Moshe Patel, said more than 2,400 projectiles had been intercepted in the 10 years through January.
According to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, more than 2,500 had been intercepted — with a 90% success rate.
"Every rocket intercepted by the system would have hit a civilian populated area, potentially causing severe damage and casualties," according to the IDF website.
It only takes seconds for Iron Dome to intercept approaching projectiles
Hamas tests Dome
The IDF claims that more than 1,000 rockets have been fired on Israel since the beginning of the week but that 200 of them did not clear the border and landed within the Gaza Strip. The radical Islamist militant group Hamas seems to be relying on the strategy of firing a whole tirade of rockets in quick succession in order to test Iron Dome and bring it to its limits.
One missile is reported to cost about €66,000 ($80,000). This is one of the reasons why they are only launched when a projectile is heading towards a populated area.
The US helped fund the development of the Iron Dome system and has since bought two batteries itself.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Seeking new shelter
Residents sought shelter as airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued. One airstrike Sunday killed 33 people. Israeli authorities say the attacks target Hamas officials and that the humanitarian tragedy is the result of party leaders' mixing with the civilian population. Gaza's Health Ministry reports 181 deaths, including 52 children; 10 people have been killed in Israel.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Press building destroyed
The IDF warned media such as the AP and Al Jazeera before destroying the 12-story building that housed their offices and several apartments, saying Hamas operated there. "We have called on the Israeli government to put forward the evidence," AP CEO Gary Pruitt said. "AP’s bureau has been in this building for 15 years. We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building."
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Retaliatory strikes
On Thursday, Israeli fighter planes bombed the southern Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, the attacks targeted facilities that housed members of the Hamas organization.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Destruction in Gaza City
This building, destroyed on Wednesday, was one of the first to fall when the IDF's strikes on the alleged offices of militant groups or their leaders began.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Locals flee for safety
Residents of Gaza evacuated their homes on Tuesday, early in the conflict, which has only spiraled since.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Rockets over Tel Aviv
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, began firing rockets into Israel earlier in the conflict. Israel's missile defense system has protected Tel Aviv and other areas — destroying projectiles in the air or diverting them so they cause as little damage as possible.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Anxious waiting
But the Iron Dome missile defense system does not offer 100% protection. When the sirens go off, Israelis know that they have to find safety in shelters as quickly as possible. Even if it's 3 a.m.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Finding cover
People who fail to make it to shelters in time try to take cover as best they can, like these people in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
More danger
Even if rockets can be repelled, falling debris is also dangerous. Here, a house in Yehud, just north of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, has been destroyed. The Israeli army has claimed that more than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Monday.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Stones and tear gas
In recent days, there have been many clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in several cities, including here in Hebron, in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel. Demonstrators threw stones and other projectiles.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Taking position
Security forces have used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets against Arab Israelis protesting forced evictions in east Jerusalem.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
Israel mobilizes reservists
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has been amassing combat troops and tanks on the border with the Gaza Strip, recalling the conflicts in 2008/2009 and 2014.
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets, airstrikes
How long will it last?
It doesn't look as if either side will de-escalate the tension any time soon. Some Palestinians in Gaza City have taken refuge at the UN compound for fear of further airstrikes.
Author: Uta Steinwehr
