Conflict between Israel and Palestinians: How the Iron Dome, a powerful Israeli anti-missile shield, works
The ballistic attacks of the past few hours have once again revealed the power of the Israel Iron Dome
The crossfire between Israeli and Palestinian forces continues to intensify and the United Nations fears a "large-scale war".
Since Monday (10/05), Palestinian members of Hamas have launched more than 1,000 missiles against Israel, most against the city of Tel Aviv and its surroundings. In response, Israeli forces carried out lethal bombings in Gaza, leaving dozens dead.
But Israel has a powerful shield to protect itself from rockets launched by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip: the so-called Iron Dome.
According to the Israeli army, of the approximately 1,050 missiles and mortars fired, 850 were intercepted by this anti-missile system.
How the Iron Dome Works
Also known as the Iron Dome, the shield is part of a comprehensive air defense system that operates in Israel.
Its objective is to protect the country from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, rockets and other aerial threats.
The system was designed by Rafael Advanced Defense System LTD, a private company with close ties to the Israeli armed forces, which builds air, sea and land defense systems.
The project also had financing in excess of US $ 200 million (R $ 1.06 billion) from the United States.
The manufacturer claims that it is the most widely used anti-missile system in the world and that it is effective in more than 90% of cases.
The batteries are made up of interceptor missiles, radars and command systems that analyze where enemy rockets can land.
Radar technology differentiates between missiles that can hit urban areas and those that must miss the target. The system then decides which ones to intercept.
The interceptors are launched vertically from mobile or stationary units. They then detonate the missiles in the air.
On Tuesday night, the missiles intercepted by the Iron Dome could be seen in the Israeli sky
For what purpose was the system installed?
The Iron Dome has its origins in the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Islamic group.
At the time, Hezbollah launched thousands of rockets at Israel, killing dozens of people and causing great damage.
However, Israeli efforts to develop an anti-missile shield are more than three decades old and are an important part of military collaboration between Israel and the United States.
In 1986, Israel signed a contract with the United States to research anti-ballistic systems as part of a Ronald Reagan government's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) project.
Five years after this agreement, Israeli leaders stepped up efforts to develop the system, when then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered the launch of Scud missiles against Israel during the First Gulf War.
In early 2010, the Iron Dome had already successfully passed tests carried out by the Israeli army.
In April 2011, the system was tested in combat for the first time, when it shot down a missile launched against the city of Beer Sheva, in the south of the country.
Mobile and static units identify missiles that can fall in urban areas and knock them down in the air
Disabilities
Since Monday, in several Israeli cities - such as Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Modi'in and Beer Sheva - alarms have been sounding warnings about missiles launched from Gaza
Palestinian militants have been trying to saturate Israel's powerful defense system, experts estimate.
Anna Ahronheim, defense and security correspondent for the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, told the BBC it was "scary to hear hundreds of interceptions and missiles" falling nearby.
The missile attack intensified after two residential apartment blocks were demolished in Gaza on Tuesday (11/05).
Israel says it targets rocket launch sites, buildings, homes and offices used by Hamas, which in turn says it is outraged by the "enemy attack on residential towers".
The Iron Dome would have shot down between 85% and 90% of the missiles launched by Hamas.
However, according to Yonah Jeremy Bob, an intelligence analyst at the Jerusalem Post, the system may be effective against Hamas attacks, but it could have more difficulties with organizations like Hezbollah, which can launch more missiles in less time.
Reviews
There is no doubt that the system has protected Israelis from several lethal attacks over the past decade. However, there are criticisms as to its long-term usefulness.
Some experts question the long-term usefulness of the Iron Summit in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Experts like Yoav Fromer, a political scientist at the University of Tel Aviv, argue that the technological shield is a short-term resource, within a much deeper conflict.
"Many years later, we are still stuck in the same cycle of endless violence. The remarkable success of the Iron Dome has contributed, ironically and inadvertently, to the failure of the foreign policies that created this escalation of violence," Fromer told BBC News Mundo, the BBC's Spanish service.
"The fact that the Israeli government has failed to develop a consistent strategy to neutralize the Hamas threat can be considered, at least indirectly, as a result of the Iron Dome providing us with protection considered 'sufficient'," adds the expert.
Fromer believes that the defense offered by the system has helped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to never be under sufficient pressure from public opinion to create policies that effectively resolve the threat from the Gaza Strip.
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