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Iran launched missiles toward Israel Tuesday, just days after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a strike on Lebanon.
The Iranian blitz comes after a nearly yearlong cross-border conflict between Hezbollah, a star proxy group for Tehran, and Israeli forces. The fight, tied to the ongoing war in Gaza, has severely crippled the Lebanese militant group after Israel eliminated most of its command structure in the past month.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began limited ground incursions into Lebanon early Tuesday morning local time.
Israel has also engaged in a destructive counteroffensive in Gaza, after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Oct. 7, sparking the current conflict in the region.
Israeli officials confirmed Iran had launched strikes hours later and said its air defense systems, known as the Iron Dome, were fully operational and ready to intercept any missiles.
Video released by CBS News online shows missiles fired at Tel Aviv, one of Israel’s most densely populated cities, Tuesday evening local time. The Iron Dome is seen intercepting some of the missiles.
What is the Iron Dome?
The Iron Dome is Israel’s air missile defense system that defends against short-range rockets by intercepting them in the air above the state. Israel’s Ministry of Defense said it’s capable of handling multiple rockets at time.
The system became operational in March 2011 and performed its first interception of a rocket from Gaza a month later. Since then, it has intercepted thousands of rockets, including many on Tuesday.
The Iron Dome is part of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), which has several other systems. David’s Sling can intercept short-to-medium and medium-to-long-range missiles. Arrow-2 intercepts medium to long-range missiles and the Arrow-3 intercepts long-range missiles.
The Iron Dome was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The United States partnered with Israel to develop the system and later purchased two of its own in 2020.
The IMDO receives joint funding with the United States Missile Defense Agency to carry out join initiatives.
How does it work?
The Iron Dome is able to use a multi-mission radar to detect what a rocket’s route is going to be. It analyzes the trajectory of the rocket and where it is estimated to land, Israel’s Ministry of Defense said.
The command and control until order the system’s launcher to fire a rocket and intercept the incoming threat.
The system uses artificial intelligence to determine if civilians would be hurt by the incoming missile. If it’s determined to not be a threat, the Iron Dome will allow the rocket to land.
The dome must be reloaded to continuously intercept incoming missiles. It is designed to shoot down missiles with a range of about 40 miles or less, but it has the ability to be moved on to shops or across land to suit the needs of the country.
According to Raytheon, the U.S. defense giant, it effective day or night and in all weather conditions including low clouds, rain, dust storms and fog. Israel has 10 Iron Dome batteries.
Officials say the Iron Dome has a success rate of over 90 percent, The Associated Press reported.
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