Israel deploys Iron Dome anti-rocket system

PanARMENIAN.Net - A new defense system meant to protect southern Israel from Gaza militants’ rockets went into operation on Sunday, March 27, the Israeli military said, after weeks of stepped-up rocket and mortar attacks that have drawn fears of renewed war.

Israeli defense officials’ earlier failures to deploy the $200 million Iron Dome anti-rocket system against the Palestinian attacks had raised many questions in Israel about its effectiveness. Home Front Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio on Sunday that even once it was deployed, the Iron Dome would still not provide full protection to residents of Israel’s south.

According to AP, the Iron Dome began operating in the area of Beersheba, southern Israel’s largest city, the military said. A second missile battery will be deployed soon in another large southern city, Ashdod, the military added, without specifying an exact date.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced last week that the new system was being put into place but gave no exact date for when it would start operating.

Israel developed the system to protect itself from short-range rockets used against it by Palestinian militants to its south in Gaza and Hezbollah guerrillas to the north in Lebanon. The Iron Dome system uses cameras and radar to track incoming rockets and is supposed to shoot them down within seconds of their launch.