Campbell MacDiarmid and James Rothwell1
May 13 2021
Death toll in Gaza and Israel mounts amid violence between Palestinian militants and Israel’s military
The international community is urging both sides to end the escalation.
Israel's military was facing questions on Wednesday (local time) as to whether its Iron Dome missile defence system needed an upgrade, after five Israeli civilians were killed by rocket strikes.
The system, which Israeli officials say has a 90 per cent interception rate, has already avoided heavy loss of life in Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and other cities which became a focal point for Hamas as it sought to overwhelm air defences.
But on Wednesday, Israeli analysts said that for some time intelligence sources had been warning that Hamas had significantly improved its weaponry, to the extent that it could “pierce the Iron Dome shield”.
In Gaza, the police headquarters has been destroyed by Israeli bombardments as the violence escalates and casualties rise on both sides
Bob stressed that this did not mean the Iron Dome was no longer effective.
“If Hamas has more of those longer-range rockets, this could impact Israel’s plans for this round of violence and especially the question of how long it wants it to last,” he added.
The scale of this week’s rocket barrages have been unprecedented, with about a thousand missiles fired at longer ranges to challenge the capabilities of the Iron Dome system.
“Ten per cent of the time, you have to take into consideration that it won’t do the job,” retired Israeli Brigadier General Amir Avivi said of the Iron Dome.
But Avivi, who founded a group of retired military officers called Habithonistim to advocate for Israel’s security, insisted it was operating as intended.
“The system was designed for much bigger events,” he said. “Iron Dome can cope with a huge volume of rockets.”
Introduced into service 10 years ago, the Iron Dome system was developed by two Israeli defence firms with financial and technical assistance from the United States.
Designed to intercept short-range rockets and mortars, the system uses radar to detect inbound threats and deploys interceptor rockets to detonate in the air to destroy incoming missiles.
ARIEL SCHALIT/AP
An Israeli soldier takes cover as an Iron Dome air defence system launches to intercept a rocket from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel on May 11, 2021.
The Israeli military has deployed 10 batteries of the Iron Dome system across the country and credits the system with greatly reducing casualties from rocket attacks.
“The number of Israelis killed and wounded would be far higher were it not for the Israeli Iron Dome system, which has been a lifesaver,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on Wednesday, speaking on a call with reporters from outside a rocket-damaged home in Yehud, on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The house, 64 kilometres north of Gaza where the rocket was fired, was one of about 20 sites struck by Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza.
The unprecedented intensity of the rocket fire, which in some cases was trained deliberately on individual towns and cities, marks a new tactic by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to try to overwhelm the Iron Dome system.
Since the last major conflict in 2014, the militants have been increasing both the size of their arsenal and the capabilities of their rockets. “According to our estimates we’re talking about between 20,000 and 30,000 rockets in Gaza today, rockets and mortars,” Conricus said.
“We’ve seen a constant expansion in terms of range and also in terms of the size of the warheads,” he said. “They have an advanced arsenal of rockets – I think it’s on par with the fire capabilities of a few small European countries.”
Produced using pipe and fertiliser with designs provided by Iranian military engineers, Israel has few options for disrupting the manufacture of rockets in Gaza, though weapons workshops are among several hundred sites the Israeli military says it has struck in densely populated Gaza this week.
“Israel’s aerial bombardment of Gaza – the sixth one in my adult life at least – is unlikely to produce a new outcome,” said Steven Wagner, a lecturer in international security at Brunel University London.
“Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence, while mesmerising, should also be a stark reminder of the asymmetry of this conflict,” he said. “Hamas ordnance is simple, cheap, and can still occasionally break through the multimillion-dollar defence system funded by the United States.”
ARIEL SCHALIT/AP
Israelis run to shelters as air attack sirens goes off during a Jerusalem Day march, in Jerusalem.
The sheer number of rockets in militant hands, produced at a cost of just a few hundred dollars each, could pose a costly threat for Iron Dome to address, with each interceptor rocket costing an estimated US$50,000 (NZ$69,800), according to Israeli military.
However, Israel says that its costly defence system is worth every penny. “The rockets are not outsmarting the Iron Dome – the Iron Dome is outstanding in its capacity to adapt to new techniques and to new methods by the enemies,” Conricus said.
And while the rockets have terrified Israeli civilians, Conricus said their destructive power was limited: “The rockets definitely terrorise but are they capable of causing significant military damage? Not quite.”
The Telegraph
Death toll in Gaza and Israel mounts amid violence between Palestinian militants and Israel’s military
The international community is urging both sides to end the escalation.
Israel's military was facing questions on Wednesday (local time) as to whether its Iron Dome missile defence system needed an upgrade, after five Israeli civilians were killed by rocket strikes.
The system, which Israeli officials say has a 90 per cent interception rate, has already avoided heavy loss of life in Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and other cities which became a focal point for Hamas as it sought to overwhelm air defences.
But on Wednesday, Israeli analysts said that for some time intelligence sources had been warning that Hamas had significantly improved its weaponry, to the extent that it could “pierce the Iron Dome shield”.
In Gaza, the police headquarters has been destroyed by Israeli bombardments as the violence escalates and casualties rise on both sides
Bob stressed that this did not mean the Iron Dome was no longer effective.
“If Hamas has more of those longer-range rockets, this could impact Israel’s plans for this round of violence and especially the question of how long it wants it to last,” he added.
The scale of this week’s rocket barrages have been unprecedented, with about a thousand missiles fired at longer ranges to challenge the capabilities of the Iron Dome system.
“Ten per cent of the time, you have to take into consideration that it won’t do the job,” retired Israeli Brigadier General Amir Avivi said of the Iron Dome.
But Avivi, who founded a group of retired military officers called Habithonistim to advocate for Israel’s security, insisted it was operating as intended.
“The system was designed for much bigger events,” he said. “Iron Dome can cope with a huge volume of rockets.”
Introduced into service 10 years ago, the Iron Dome system was developed by two Israeli defence firms with financial and technical assistance from the United States.
Designed to intercept short-range rockets and mortars, the system uses radar to detect inbound threats and deploys interceptor rockets to detonate in the air to destroy incoming missiles.
ARIEL SCHALIT/AP
An Israeli soldier takes cover as an Iron Dome air defence system launches to intercept a rocket from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel on May 11, 2021.
The Israeli military has deployed 10 batteries of the Iron Dome system across the country and credits the system with greatly reducing casualties from rocket attacks.
“The number of Israelis killed and wounded would be far higher were it not for the Israeli Iron Dome system, which has been a lifesaver,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on Wednesday, speaking on a call with reporters from outside a rocket-damaged home in Yehud, on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The house, 64 kilometres north of Gaza where the rocket was fired, was one of about 20 sites struck by Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza.
The unprecedented intensity of the rocket fire, which in some cases was trained deliberately on individual towns and cities, marks a new tactic by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to try to overwhelm the Iron Dome system.
Since the last major conflict in 2014, the militants have been increasing both the size of their arsenal and the capabilities of their rockets. “According to our estimates we’re talking about between 20,000 and 30,000 rockets in Gaza today, rockets and mortars,” Conricus said.
“We’ve seen a constant expansion in terms of range and also in terms of the size of the warheads,” he said. “They have an advanced arsenal of rockets – I think it’s on par with the fire capabilities of a few small European countries.”
Produced using pipe and fertiliser with designs provided by Iranian military engineers, Israel has few options for disrupting the manufacture of rockets in Gaza, though weapons workshops are among several hundred sites the Israeli military says it has struck in densely populated Gaza this week.
“Israel’s aerial bombardment of Gaza – the sixth one in my adult life at least – is unlikely to produce a new outcome,” said Steven Wagner, a lecturer in international security at Brunel University London.
“Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence, while mesmerising, should also be a stark reminder of the asymmetry of this conflict,” he said. “Hamas ordnance is simple, cheap, and can still occasionally break through the multimillion-dollar defence system funded by the United States.”
ARIEL SCHALIT/AP
Israelis run to shelters as air attack sirens goes off during a Jerusalem Day march, in Jerusalem.
The sheer number of rockets in militant hands, produced at a cost of just a few hundred dollars each, could pose a costly threat for Iron Dome to address, with each interceptor rocket costing an estimated US$50,000 (NZ$69,800), according to Israeli military.
However, Israel says that its costly defence system is worth every penny. “The rockets are not outsmarting the Iron Dome – the Iron Dome is outstanding in its capacity to adapt to new techniques and to new methods by the enemies,” Conricus said.
And while the rockets have terrified Israeli civilians, Conricus said their destructive power was limited: “The rockets definitely terrorise but are they capable of causing significant military damage? Not quite.”
The Telegraph
No comments:
Post a Comment