Published on Nov 16, 2012 by JewishNewsOne ~ The Israeli army has said its Iron Dome interceptor system, which singles out rockets heading for populated areas, has shot down over 130 projectiles thus far in Operation Pillar of Defense. Southern Israeli cities such as Sderot and Beersheba have been targeted by a barrage of rockets from Gaza during in the early phases of the conflict but the shield has been largely successful in preventing rockets from striking populated areas although one rocket that got through the Iron Dome killed three Israelis on Thursday, Defense officials say Israel is prepared to launch a ground invasion of Gaza if needed to restore order to Israel’s south.
The “Iron Dome” system has been operational since 2011 and in recent months has been effective at stopping nearly 90% of rockets fired from Gaza which the system attempted to intercept. The initial Iron Dome system was developed entirely by Israel but the US contributed about USD 205 million to its expansion. US lawmakers are currently debating whether an additional USD 680 million will be provided for the system’s development over the next three years.
