While clashes continue between Palestinians and Israelis after the launch of Operation al Aqsa Flood on Saturday, and the firing of more than 3,000 rockets at Israel when the attack began, the Israeli air defense system, or what is known as “Iron Dome,” didn’t intercept many of these attacks, although its interception rate was estimated.
About 90%, according to the Israeli army, which according to experts a “strange matter”.
Israel’s establishment of Iron Dome came to deal with mortar shells and rockets fired by militants in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon at Israel from a relatively close range.
Its first interception was in April 2011 when it shot down a Grad missile launched from Gaza on the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
The cost of each missile is about $40,000 to $50,000, according to a researcher at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, according to a Bloomberg report.
As for Hamas rockets, Israeli media, including the Jerusalem Post, had stated in the past, quoting Uzi Rubin, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at the Hebrew University, that even the most advanced Hamas missiles are relatively simple and inexpensive.
The Jerusalem Post reported, “The cost of Hamas’ short-range rockets estimated cost between $300 and $800 per rocket”.
According to Tal Inbar, former head of the Space Research Center at the Israeli Fisher Institute, as saying that the cost of a long-range missile is two to three times more than short-range missiles.
Military experts and observers believe that the unusual attack by the Palestinian factions revealed a widespread intelligence defect inside Tel Aviv, especially with the failure to anticipate this military action, as well as the delay in dealing quickly with it, while the Iron Dome system had many criticisms from within Israel itself, under the weight of hundreds of rockets that were fired over continuous hours, many of which fell inside Israeli territory.
Given the sheer volume of rockets fired from Gaza, often in heavy volleys, Iron Dome decides which ones pose the greatest threat to urban areas and infrastructure, ignoring those whose trajectory indicates they are likely to hit unpopulated areas or they will fall into the sea.
