The crossfire between Israeli and Palestinian forces continues to intensify and the United Nations Organization fears for a “large-scale war.”
Since Monday, the Palestinian military of Hamas have launched more of 1.000 missiles on Israel, mostly in and around Tel Aviv city, and Israeli forces have carried out lethal bombardments on Gaza, leaving in total dozens of dead.
But Israel has a powerful shield to protect itself from rockets launched by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip: the so-called Iron Dome.
As reported by the Israeli army, of the around 1. 050 missiles and mortars fired, 850 were intercepted by this anti-missile system.
Several images and videos attest to his ability, showing how simultaneously destroy multiple missiles in the air and prevent them from landing on civilian settlements.
However, like any other defense system, the Iron Dome is not infallible, and experts warn that other organizations with greater power can reduce its effectiveness.
How the Iron Dome works
Also known as the Iron Dome, this shield is part of a wide operational air defense system in Israel.
Its objective is to protect the country from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, rockets and other air threats.
It was designed by the company Rafael Advanced Defense System LTD, a private firm with very close ties to the Israeli armed forces that build air, maritime and land defense systems.
It also had funding of more than US $ 200 million by the United States.
Its manufacturer assures that it is the most widely deployed anti-missile system in the world and that is effective in more than 90% of the cases.
The batteries are made of interceptor missiles, radars and command systems that analyze where enemy rockets can land.
The technology of the Radar differentiates between missiles that can reach urban areas and those that miss their target. The system then decides which ones should be intercepted.
These interceptors are launched vertically from mobile or static units. Then they detonate the missiles in the air.
For what purpose was installed
The Iron Dome has its roots in the conflict you faced in 2006 Israel with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamist group.
Hezbollah then launched thousands of rockets that killed dozens of Israelis and left extensive damage.
However, Israeli efforts to develop a missile shield date back more than three decades and are part of the military collaboration between Israel and the United States.
In 1986, Israel signed a contract with the US to research anti-ballistic systems as part of a project to the D Initiative Ronald Reagan Administration Strategic Defense (SDI).
Five years after this agreement, Israeli leaders accelerated their efforts to develop this system when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered to launch Scud missiles on Israel during the First Gulf War.
Beginning of 2010, the Iron Dome had already successfully passed the tests carried out by the Israeli army.
In April of 2011 was tested in combat for the first time, when it shot down a missile launched against the city of Beersheba, in the south of the country.
Weaknesses
Since Monday the alarms have been heard about missiles launched from Gaza in several Israeli cities, such as Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Modi ‘ in and Beersheba.
Palestinian militants have been trying to saturate the powerful Israeli defense system, experts agree.
Anna Ahronheim, defense and security correspondent for the newspaper Israeli The Jerusalem Post , told the BBC that it was “ terrifying to hear hundreds of interceptions and missiles “ falling close to them.
The missile fire intensified after two residential apartment blocks were shot down in Gaza on Tuesday.
Israel claimed that it was targeting rocket launch sites, skyscrapers, homes and offices used by Hamas, who in turn d I am outraged by the “enemy’s attack on the residential towers.”
In the past, the Iron Dome is reported to have brought down around the 85 % – 97% of missiles launched by Hamas.
However, according to an analysis by Yonah Jeremy Bob, intelligence analyst for The Jerusalem Post , the Iron Dome can repel Hamas attacks, but could have more difficulties with organizations like Hezbollah , capable of launching more missiles in less time.
Reviews
There is no doubt that this system has protected from a lethal attacks on the Israelis in the last decade, but has not been spared criticism about its long-term usefulness either.
Experts such as Yoav Fromer, a political scientist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, argue that this technological shield is a short-term resource within a much deeper conflict.
“ Many years later we are still trapped in the same cycle of endless violence . The remarkable success of the Iron Dome has contributed, in an ironic and involuntary way, to the failure of the foreign policies that have created this escalation of violence ”, Fromer tells BBC Mundo.
“That the Israeli government has failed to develop a firm strategy to at least neutralize the threat from Hamas can be seen, at least indirectly, as a result of the Iron Dome successfully providing us with protection ‘sufficient’ ”, adds the expert.
Fromer believes that the defense provided by this system has contributed to the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, has never received enough public pressure to create policies that resolve the threat since Loop.
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