What Is Israel's Iron Dome And How Did Hamas' Attack Overwhelm It?

The Iron Dome, Israel's short-range missile defence system, was first developed by state-owned Israeli defence specialists, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, in 2007, with investment from the US government following later in 2011, prior to going operational later that same year. The development of the Iron Dome was a response to rocket fire that devastated Israeli towns during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, as well as from Palestinians in the Gaza Strip where Hamas took control in 2007. The Iron Dome was deployed in late March 2011 and faced its first serious test in a clash between Israel and Hamas in late 2012, where 1,500 rockets were launched towards Israel from the Gaza Strip. At the time, the Israel Defence Force claimed that the short-range air defence system destroyed 426 rockets launched from the disputed region, with a successful interception rate of 84%. Each unit within the Iron Dome fires radar-guided missiles to intercept and destroy short-range threats like rockets, mortars and drones if they are identified as a threat to Israeli population centres. If the system determines they are not a threat, the rockets are ignored. The success rate of the Iron Dome defence system has received international attention over the last 10 years, but analysts say that this protection had lulled Israelis into a false sense of security. Following an unprecedented missile bombardment launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, the Iron Dome air defence system was overwhelmed. The wide-scale attack over the Jewish Sabbath has killed more than 1,100 people on both sides and several thousands more are reported injured.